


Ares to Eros (Ricstar AU)

by Shatterstxr



Category: Marvel (Comics), X-Force (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, X-men Inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-03-26 16:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 38,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19009591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterstxr/pseuds/Shatterstxr
Summary: Julio Richter is a bounty hunter taking down rogue mutants, working for X Force undercover, doing their dirty work. Shatterstar is a newcomer to Earth on a quest to find Longshot who, in his quest, has carved a swath through a few cities interrogating hapless minor X Men for their luck-laden comrade. Cable catches wind of this and sends his best to hunt down and eliminate the man.When he finds Shatterstar, however, the tables turn, and Rictor has to deal with things he has never dealt with in his life....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [johnnystormbi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/johnnystormbi/gifts).



> Dedicated to Johnnystormbi on Tumblr  
> Author’s Note: I am from Pittsburgh, and I decided to write the story in that setting. This story is still set in the X Men universe, but the roles of certain characters are different (ie. Shatterstar is not in X Force and Rictor is not either). I was also unable to find a definitive place where X Force was located, so I put them in Ohio lol. Humor me, please. I am bad with creative places, and I like writing locations I am familiar with.

Rictor loaded up the nondescript Jeep he drove for what he hoped would be a quick job. It was just an elimination. No retrieval, none of the struggle to drag someone back kicking and screaming to X Force. Just a jaunt to the last city Shatterstar had been spotted at. A shot to the head and he would be golden and able to collect his money and head back to his small apartment on the outskirts of town. It was a good gig. 

He checked his luggage. A sniper rifle, a few changes of clothing, a lightweight, bulletproof vest, ammunition, and snacks. He carried on his person garotte wire, a handgun, and a knife, as well as a phone and wallet. He was set to go on his mission. He got into his car and revved up the engine and drove off in the direction of the relatively small city of Pittsburgh. He turned the air condition on blast as it was a hot, sultry summer day, and turned on the radio. All garbage. He turned it back off. 

As he drove, he replayed in his mind his mission briefing. It had been just that: brief. Cable had warned him that his adversary was intelligent and powerful. According to gathered intel and eyewitnesses, Shatterstar had long, ginger hair and a star over his left, pure white eye. The other eye was blue-green. He was superhumanly strong, fast, and agile, hollow boned, capable of teleportation, and possessing of a minor healing factor and the ability to move his organs around. He used two double bladed swords, the report said. They were archaic weapons, but Rictor knew that his opponent was not to be underestimated. DNA found at the site of the fights indicated that he shared genetic information with Longshot and the mutant woman Dazzler, both former X Men, now one a professional singer, the other MIA.  
The picture he had been shown to go off of was interesting, to say the least. Shatterstar was tall and lanky, with the build of a swimmer. He had long orangey-red hair with tan skin and a mullet. His left eye glowed a little bit. He wore mostly white and black. Rictor bet he would be able to locate him by virtue of hair, eye, and height. He loved it when his targets had noticeable traits. 

Rictor zoned out for most of his drive until he hit the Fort Pitt tunnels. He had only driven to this location once, and it was chaos trying to get out of these tunnels. It consisted of a lot of swerving, merging, and horn honking. Today, Rictor did all three. When he finally got to the downtown area of the city, he parked his car in an overnight garage and walked with his bags to the hotel he was staying in. 

He had to give it to Cable. The hotel he had picked out for him was not a half bad hotel to stay in. There was a spacious bed, a small fridge, a safe, and a bathtub/shower combo. Room service and a free breakfast was a nice touch as well. Fantastic. Obviously, someone in X Force had upped the budget for Rictor’s department. 

He phoned to Cable. “I arrived safely in the city. Any word on his whereabouts, or should I just start questioning people and lying about being affiliated with the X Men to get the authorities to talk?”

“That won’t be necessary, kid. He was last seen near the big convention center downtown. DL Convention center. It’s big and white; you can’t miss it.” Cable’s gruff voice echoed over the phone. “Word has it that he was there only a few hours ago. No deaths, just walking around. One of ours has hacked most of the cameras in the city and put software in them to track anyone who matches his description and send information back to us. Especially targets people with his hair and eye combo. We’ve mislabeled a couple of gingers with face tattoos, but Shatterstar being a virtual giant helps out a bit.”

“Keep me updated. I’ll go take a look around before I eat dinner.” He hung up. The sun was starting to set, and Rictor wanted to find this guy as soon as possible and take him out. This was a reconnaissance mission, not a stakeout, so he left his rifle in the room, disassembled, in his safe. He threw on his street clothes, and he thanked his lucky stars that Pittsburgh was a city that tolerated guns fairly well, or that would make his job a little more difficult, as he always carried a gun on his person. 

He walked from his hotel to the nearby convention center which was conveniently located down the street. It was crowded with people. There was obviously something going on there. The crowds would possibly make this very difficult. If Shatterstar was smart, he would hide within the crowd and hope that that would mask him from the camera scanner’s views. 

He weighed his options. He could always find a way to get to the top of a building somewhere and scout the area below the center and see if he could pick out Shatterstar, but he did not have binoculars on him. He also could just go with the crowd and see if he could find Shatterstar that way. Or, if all else failed, he could look around the city for Shatterstar. He chose the second option. The crowd seemed like as likely a place as any, and perhaps Rictor could find food where they were going. Then he swore. There was no way he could get in there with a gun or knife. He’d have to go inside the center unarmed and rely on his mutant abilities and sheer luck to take out a guy who could swing around large swords like they were nothing. Great. Just great. Maybe he could find makeshift weapons in there or find someone to steal them from. 

He ran back to the hotel and stashed the rest of his arsenal in the room, also in the now crowded safe, and then made a beeline for the convention center once more. 

He pulled his dark hair into a messy bun behind his head and stood in line and waited to be let in. He still had no idea what it was for, or what was going on. People were wearing all sorts of clothing, and there seemed to be no theme for it. Rictor was just in jeans, boots, a maroon shirt, and a brown, leather jacket.  
Once he finally made his way in and paid the man at the door, he just stood and stared. This was the worst luck he had had all day. It was a swordsmanship convention of all things. He didn’t even know there was such a thing. On the other hand, maybe he would find Shatterstar here shopping for more garish looking swords; who knows. He made his way to the walkway at the top of the center and stared down at the people in the large exhibition rooms. He picked out a few people who looked like they could fit Shatterstar’s description height and hair wise. It was as good a start as any. 

A few hours later, he was heartily disappointed. None of his marks were the man he was looking for. They all were tall gingers, but none had the distinctive eye tattoo or the blue eyes he was searching out. He walked out of the center with no man but a single sword, bought from a lonely looking vendor who he had taken pity on.  
“SHIT!” He yelled at the sky. He sat down on the ground outside the center and put his head in his hands. He knew this was not going to be easy, but he had so little to go on here. It had been a gamble to go into the center, and in turn, he had wasted the last of his daylight. He would have to resume his search in the morning the next day. 

He stood up to walk back to the hotel and almost walked into a tall, blond man carrying a few decks of cards. “Oh! I’m so sorry, man!” Rictor put his hands up in apology. 

The man stopped and gave Rictor a long stare, and at this moment, Rictor had an epiphany. He was looking at none other than Longshot himself. The pale blond hair, sideburns, and glowing golden eye were unmistakable. The cards added an almost comedic effect, given his mutant ability to influence luck. He was like Domino, only a very attractive man with psychometry and hollow bones. Rictor had worked with him a couple of times, the rare times X Force had teamed with the X Men, but he otherwise knew very little of the man. But what he did know was that Shatterstar was pursuing him and that he was Shatterstar’s father. 

“You’re Rictor, right? The X Force bounty hunter?” He looked at him, curious. His accent was almost Australian. Rictor had never noticed that before. 

“The one and only. And you’re Longshot? The luckiest X Men alive?”

“You’re looking right at him.” Longshot made a fake bow. “How can I help you?”

“Would you mind coming to my hotel room for a little bit? I think you can help me find something important.” Rictor hoped he would say yes and not take offense to the fact that Rictor was on a mission to kill his son. 

“Is this about my offspring, Shatterstar?” Longshot suddenly grew more serious.

“Yes.” Rictor nodded. “Now will you come with me? You’ll be safer with me, anyhow.”

“So you know. You know he’s hunting me down. I’m not sure why my own son would resort to going after my old teammates to find me. Just calling me would work, but he seems to want my attention in the loudest way possible.”

“Who knows. Come on. There’s a bar in the hotel. I’ll buy you all the alcohol you want, and you can tell me where I can find your kid, or at least help me out. I’ve been hired to take him out. X Force wants him gone; he’s been causing too much trouble and becoming very violent against mutants in his quest.”

“He just won’t take ‘I don’t know’ for an answer.” Longshot shook his head sadly. “But let’s go.”

“Hold on, what do you mean by that?” Rictor started walking along the street, Longshot in his wake. 

“He found me once and demanded that I come back with him to our planet of origin, and I told him that I didn’t know how to get there, and even if I did, I don’t know how to time travel. He became angry and accused me of not caring for our people back on Mojoworld, and he told me that no matter where I went he would follow me until I agreed to aid him. His heart is in the right place, I think at least, but he is dreadfully misguided in his efforts.” Longshot lost the careless gleam in his eyes and looked rather despondent. 

“Mojoworld. That sounds familiar. You’re both from there?” Rictor and Longshot reached the hotel and entered the elevator, ascending to Rictor’s room. 

“Correct. We are both former performers, forced to play for the joy of the dictator of the planet. But we escaped. But Shatterstar is dead set on saving his people from the dictatorial rule of Mojo V. I can’t say that I blame him, but I can say that it is a lost cause. The people have lost their fire and have little desire for a revolution.” He sat down on Rictor’s bed while Rictor called room service to bring them something to drink. 

A few drinks later, Longshot was snoring, face first and backside up on the bed, leaving Rictor to fend for himself in the room. He gently moved the sleeping man to the corner of the bed, marveling at the alien physiology that made him so light. He curled up in bed and tried to fall asleep. He was struggling, however. He could not quit thinking about Shatterstar and his motives. It was not as if Shatterstar wanted money or power. He wanted liberation. Longshot was not in the wrong, however. 

Longshot genuinely could not go to Shatterstar’s dimension, which, he had explained in between drinks, was 100 years in the future. He finally slept, dreaming of the moment when he could finish his job and give poor Longshot some peace.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar finds Rictor and sparks fly.... but not like that, yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I am loving the positive reception so far, so thank you!! I know I did two chapters in two days, but do not expect that for the rest, as I am in school and I work. I will try to update once or twice with relatively lengthy chapters :)

The phone was ringing. Rictor ignored it in his half-asleep stupor. He did not feel like dealing with anyone at -he checked- seven in the morning. He had another half hour before his alarm went off and his search continued. He checked in his bed. Longshot was still there, half on, half off of the bed. The phone kept ringing. Rictor rolled his eyes, groaned, and then finally answered the phone. “G’morning?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. 

“There’s someone down here to see you? He says you have a delivery for him.” The voice was cheerful and female. It was one of the receptionists who had greeted him the night before, Rictor wagered. 

“I don’t have packages for anyone. You have the wrong room, ma’am.” He hung up the phone and wrapped himself back up in the blankets and was prepared to fall back asleep when he heard a loud bang in the hallway and smelled a smell like fireworks. 

Longshot shot up like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on. “He’s found us.” He whispered. He pulled out a knife from who knows where. 

Rictor raised an eyebrow as he rushed to his safe and pulled out his own gun and quickly filled it with ammo. “Healing factor or no, he can’t do much if I blow his brains out.”

“I don’t exactly want him dead, just for him to quit-“

“Well, dead is what you’re gonna get. Because that’s what I am being paid for. Understand me well, Longshot, I don’t play around. I am a professional bounty hunter, and if I want someone dead, they die.” Rictor shot a glare at his mutant charge who looked rather like a kicked puppy. 

Longshot nodded mutely and readied another knife in his hand so he had weapons in both hands. He looked decidedly green but resolve filled. Rictor reminded himself that Longshot was a seasoned X Men and probably very capable in a fight and that this was probably just reluctance to kill his own son.

There was a crash against the door, like someone throwing their body against it. It was not a very hard crash, however. It was probably Shatterstar, but due to his hollow bones, he probably was not very heavy. There was another crash, this one was much harder, and was followed by the sound of rattling plastic. Rictor chanced a peak through the peephole and gaped at the site. It was Shatterstar alright, and he was using one of the carts with the nice bottles of shampoos and soaps. 

Rictor put the chain over the door and then ran to the far side of the room with Longshot. “He’s ramming into the door with the soap cart. Hopefully he won’t get anywhere with this-“

There was another loud bang, similar to the one from earlier that morning, and a glowing ‘x’ filled the entrance of the room. Shatterstar stepped through, and the void shut itself like a zipper with a snap like a giant snapping his fingers. The smell of gunpowder and flame filled the room once more. 

The pictures had not done him justice. Shatterstar stood a head taller than Rictor and was even taller than the lanky Longshot. His hair was short on top, long in back, and pulled into a ponytail, and his white eye was glowing in the morning light. Two swords adorned his hands, and his face was pure fury and determination. He wore a white jacket with black detail and white pants with black leather chaps over them. 

“Good morning, father. I told you I’d find you.” He smiled thinly. “And who’s this with you? Did you hire a body guard? Have you gotten that desperate?” He pointed his sword at Rictor. “Leave, and your life will be spared.”

“You think that you can kill me with those old things?” Rictor faked bravado, pretending that the teleportation had not thrown him off his rhythm, although it should not have. He had known about it. “My name is Rictor, and I’m here to end your attacks on the X Men. I’ll do it by ending you!” He fired five rounds of his handgun at Shatterstar, aiming for the heart, lungs, and head. 

“You thought.” Shatterstar lunged at him _through_ the bullet fire. Cable had been right, he was superhumanly fast, and he was graceful to boot. He stumbled once as a bullet caught him right across the cheek, just barely grazing a wound across his high cheekbone. 

Rictor took this opportunity to fire at him again, this time catching him in the thigh, causing him to trip slightly, but not stop. His speed barely faltered as he recovered and threw himself past Rictor and at Longshot. 

“Not today, fucker.” Rictor holstered his gun and pulled out his knife and approached from behind as Longshot and Shatterstar circled each other. The resemblance was uncanny. They both had the same high cheekbones, same hairline, same eye shape, and the same lips and nose. They were obviously closely related. Looking at 

Shatterstar was also reminiscent vaguely of the two times Rictor had seen the mutant Dazzler. They had the same fluidity of movement and the same face shape. He had her blue-green eye as well. 

“So you hide behind this bounty hunter, _Rictor_ , to escape your obligation to our people?! You’re pathetic, Longshot!” Shatterstar spat on the ground as he gazed at Longshot. 

“If I could travel to your dimension one hundred years from now, I would! But I. Don’t. Know. How. To.” He threw his hands up. “What do you want me to do about this?!” He groaned in frustration.

“If you are unwilling to help me, then you will face my blades as a traitor to all the free men of Mojo!” Shatterstar flew at him, swords behind him. 

Rictor hung back; maybe Longshot should handle this. This was _his_ son after all. He watched as Longshot, faster than he could follow, drew out knives and hurled them at Shatterstar with unerring accuracy, catching him at the shoulders of his jacket, but not wounding him. Another two knives pinned him at the legs, and all four drove him into the wall. The amount of force Longshot could exert with those weapons shocked Rictor. He never would have guessed. 

Longshot and Rictor both walked up to the now temporarily restrained Shatterstar. The knives were embedded deeply into the wall. Longshot had not had to throw them a long distance, and it was easy to forget that the man had many of the same powers as Shatterstar. His unnatural luck might have aided him as well, giving his throws a boost in power. 

“So, Longshot. Now what? Will you just forget your problems and let this _mercenary_ -“ he spat the word out “kill me?”

“That’s up to him. I have tried to discourage it, however. I do not want to see my only son dead. That is not a wish of mine, if I am to be completely honest.” Longshot shot a glance at Rictor who refused to look back at him. 

Rictor walked up to Shatterstar and pointed a knife at his throat. “I have a proposition for you. It doesn’t involve killing you, so listen up.” He sighed; Cable was not going to be happy about this. “Join me. Be my partner in crime. We can work together and hunt people down for money. When we get enough, maybe we can find someone with the technology or powers to send us to your dimension, and we can help the people there. X Force has some good resources, and I know a lot of people. I can make this work.” He hoped he could, at least. He wanted his money, but he got a distinct feeling that he would make a permanent enemy out of Longshot should he kill Shatterstar. Being the enemy of a man with unnatural knife throwing accuracy and freakishly good luck was not very high on his to do list. 

He heard Longshot make a noise of relief behind him, but he chose not to acknowledge the other mutant. “Do we have an agreement?”

“What’s my cut?” He asked, sullenly, still struggling to unpin himself from the wall. 

“Half. It’ll be fair. And you’ll have somewhere to stay, with me.” Rictor tried to think fast, try to find a way to please all parties. He did not think Cable would care too much so long as Shatterstar was off the streets and not going after mutants and brutally interrogating Longshot’s old friends. 

“It’s a deal. Now let me down.”

Longshot walked over and pulled the knives out of both Shatterstar’s jacket and the wall, and the other man fell to the floor. He stood up and put his swords back over his shoulders and glared at Longshot. “Call your boss, Rictor. He’s in for a surprise.”

“Don’t order me around. I will shoot you without a second thought if you annoy me enough; I hope that you know that.” Rictor glared at him, shooting daggers from his eyes. 

“Sure you will. You don’t have the balls to do that. You had to get someone else’s approval to do your job, and when they said no, you didn’t even do it. You’re pathetic, Rictor.”

“You know what? I am already tired of working with you.” Rictor retorted, irritably, noting, impressed, that his wounds had already healed themselves with no signs of scarring. 

“Get used to it. You’re the one who made this deal.” He winked. 

Rictor looked helplessly at Longshot who shrugged. “If and when you find a way forwards to Shatterstar’s time, get ahold of me. I work for the X Men and for X Factor, most of the time. I’m not hard to find. Just look for reports of a man who is very lucky. Or frequent the nearest casinos to those places’ bases.” He smirked. “Good luck. I have every intention of helping you when I can. Know this, son, that I want to aid you. But I will only do so if it is feasible. I will not go on a suicide mission to save a people who never did anything for me, do you understand?”

Shatterstar looked angry and resigned all at once, and he nodded. “Fine.”

“I’ll see you around then, kids. I need to get back to old Summers. He’s been trying to get in touch with me since this shit went down, and I’ve been ignoring him the whole time. I love the X Men.” Longshot waved, gathered up his knives, then jumped out of their fifth story window. 

Rictor ran to look to see if he had landed safely. He had. He watched Longshot walk jauntily away on the sidewalk. “Typical. You both are crazy.”

He turned to look at his new charge who gave him a long stare that could curdle milk. Great. Just great. He would have to keep an eye on his back, or else he would find a knife in it sometime. 

“I’m going to bed. I haven’t slept in days.” Shatterstar said, stiffly.

“See if I care. Just don’t take up the whole bed. There’s only one, and we need to share it; I am not sleeping on the floor.” Rictor replied softly, ignoring Shatterstar’s austere tone. 

Shatterstar let out a long sigh. “We are sharing the bed? Are you serious with me?” He shot him another one of his milk-curdle looks. “I will not share a bed with a man who just tried to murder me.”

“I was protecting your father from you.” Rictor said. “Anyhow, it is eight in the morning. You shouldn’t even be asleep. The day is young. Come do something.”

“Make me. I dare you. Try to make me do something.” His response was almost childish in its sullenness. 

Rictor rolled his eyes and reached for his phone to call Cable and report this recent change in events. He knew that Cable would not like being woken up at this time of the morning; Cable valued his sleep on his off days, but he knew that Cable would want to know of this change in plans. 

“Hey, Cable, it’s me, Rictor….” He said, nervously, pacing the room. “So here’s the thing: I didn’t kill Shatterstar. He’s here, in my bedroom, and I want him to be my partner in crime. He’s agreed to quit killing X Men, and in exchange, I am going to give him a job.” He blurted this all out before Cable could respond. 

The response was about as good as he expected. “YOU HAD ONE JOB, JULIO! KILL FUCKING SHATTERSTAR! BUT NOOOOOO YOU MADE FRIENDS WITH HIM AND WANT HIM TO BE YOUR PARTNER?!!!” Cable’s voice was equal parts furious and derogatory.

“Listen, Longshot was there, and frankly, I would fancy my chances of killing you over Longshot. Longshot was not happy about the idea of me killing Shatterstar, and Longshot’s literal power is dicking over people’s day with his unnatural luck. Fire me if you want, but you’ll lose both me and Shatterstar’s abilities. Make your choice, Summers.” He even used Cable’s last name, something he rarely dared to do. He waited for the response. 

“Fine. Bring him back to Cleveland. I’ll interrogate him. Make sure he behaves. I’ll cancel the rest of your hotel stay; I want you to leave today. Let’s do this as soon as possible.” Cable’s voice was back to normal, and he seemed slightly less angry than before. 

“Thanks. I’m a little bummed out though. I didn’t get to try out the swimming pool at the hotel. But I guess you can’t win them all.” Rictor shrugged then hung up the phone. He turned to Shatterstar who was sitting and scowling at him. 

“Is that all you have with you? Swords and that outfit?”

“I didn’t think I was going to be making a deal that would drag me out to Cleveland. Wherever that is. My clothing is in my room. I’m also in this hotel. If you will let me go there-“

“Not on your life, Starboy. I don’t trust you to not run off. I’m with you wherever you go, whether you like it or not, understand me?” Rictor could not resist giving him a somewhat teasing/derogatory name. 

“Don’t call me that. And fine.” He shrugged and stood up and walked out of the room, Rictor in his wake. This was about to be a new adventure in both of their lives, and neither of them knew exactly what they were getting into, and they definitely weren’t ready for what was to come. But hey, two heads are better than one, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made X Force based out of Cleveland. Just for shits and giggles, also because I am fairly familiar with it.   
> Longshot is a sexy maniac and I love him and I promise he will reappear.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar and Rictor make their way to X Force, and they don't like each other any extra!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know I said I wasn't going to update again today, but here I am: updating again!!!

“Get in the car, Shatterstar. Damnit, haven’t you ever driven before?” Rictor stood outside of the car, tapping his foot impatiently. Shatterstar was being obstinate and refusing to get into the car for some reason. 

“Your roof is too low, and it’s not enough leg room. I don’t want to do this in the first place, so if I must, why can we not take a more comfortable car?” Shatterstar crossed his arms and glared at him, shouldering his duffle bag which housed two swords, toiletries, a couple changes of clothing, and an immense amount of hair care products. 

“It’s not that long of a drive from here to Cleveland.” Rictor was beyond exasperated. 

“Just get in the car, and I will buy you food on the way to the base, okay?” He rubbed his temples. This was turning into a massive headache. Trying to get Shatterstar into the car was only the tip of the iceberg. Shatterstar had taken a century and a half it had seemed to take a shit and pack, he insisted on trying to eat breakfast in the restaurant, despite Rictor’s protests otherwise, and overall, he had made things rather difficult. 

“If you say so. But only if bagels are involved. I love bagels. Those are some of the best things this planet has to offer, in my opinion.” He said, easing himself into the passenger side of the car. 

Rictor realized Shatterstar had been right, watching the other man get in. Rictor’s Jeep barely housed someone of Shatterstar’s height and leg length, and he briefly pitied him the ride to Cleveland, before reminding himself that Shatterstar, this morning, had tried to kill him.

“Off we go.” He got into his side of the car and strapped in and pulled out of his parking from the night before and drove into the street. Within a few minutes, they were on the highway. Rictor plugged his phone into the aux cord and started playing a playlist that was a mix of classic rock and old-school country music. 

“Your music taste is abhorrent.” Shatterstar scowled at him. Rictor ignored him and turned the music on louder and tuned the other man out without responding. 

“Don’t ignore me, Rictor!” There was a crash, and the music stopped abruptly.   
Shatterstar had whipped out a knife from some unknown place and stabbed it through the radio. Sparks jumped out from the blade. 

“What the fuck, man?!” Rictor nearly swerved into the car next to him. “You can’t just stab someone’s radio just because your uncultured ass doesn’t like Johnny Cash!” He was livid. He had just replaced the stereo system in his car recently with money from his last bounty. 

“I do what I want. And you can’t stop me. You made a deal with me, and that involves me living.” Shatterstar’s voice had an air of smugness to it that Rictor did not like at all. 

He groaned loudly. “Listen here, Starboy. I’m the one in charge. I don’t care if your planet gets saved or not. I don’t care if you live or die. I would happily throw you out onto the highway right now if I knew for sure your superpowered father wasn’t going to come and turn me into a human pincushion. But believe me, the minute that I am safe from Longshot’s gaze, aka when he becomes distracted by his next X Men jaunt? I will probably maim you at the very least. Do you understand?” He did his best to sound calm and threatening, the way Domino would. Cable was more of a scream at you until you whimpered kind of guy, while Domino would just intimidate you until you apologized. 

That shut him up. At least for a little bit. Rictor drove in silence, still very angry about his radio, but internalizing it until he could get out of the car and possibly scream at the sky, or something like that. 

The silence did not last very long, sadly. Within a half hour, Rictor felt a tap on his shoulder. “Hey. Hey. _Hey_.”

“You only have to say ‘hey’ once. I don’t want to talk to you anyhow. You broke my fucking radio, you twat.” Rictor replied, tersely. “What do you want?” He asked, against his better judgment.

“I want bagels.” His tone was petulant, almost like that of a child.

“You can’t be serious.” Rictor pushed one hand through his hair. “You expect _me_ to get you bagels after you broke a major part of my car? Is this some sort of joke to you, kid?” This situation was so beyond ludicrous he wanted to scream. 

And scream he did. Loudly. Loudly enough that Shatterstar winced. Suddenly, the car rocked violently under them. It was now Rictor’s turn to wince. 

“Did you have to do that?” Shatterstar asked, somewhat more timidly. 

“I needed to scream. I did not, however, mean to use my powers to make our car shake, and most likely the whole highway.” Rictor slumped down in his seat in a mix of annoyance both with Shatterstar and himself. Control was not high on his list of virtues. He normally was not half bad at it, but his temper was awful, especially around people who annoyed him. When his temper got out of control was when his powers went haywire, such as making an entire highway produce tremors. 

The rest of the ride was silent. About halfway there, Rictor reluctantly bought Shatterstar the promised bagels, using Cable’s card. Let Cable deal with this issue, right?

When they arrived at the X Force base, Cable was not there out front waiting for them. Rictor had not been expecting that, but it might have been nice. Domino was there, however. 

She walked up to him like a woman with a mission and glared at him. They were the same height, so she could glare at him at eye level, which was even worse. “You failed your mission, Rictor.” She said, grimly. “You had one job.” 

“Yeah… Cable already screamed at me over the phone, so can we maybe save this whole thing for later, Neena?”

“Normally I’d call bullshit, but Cable seems to _somehow_ be okay with this crazy situation. So come on in.” She looked at Shatterstar who was getting out of the car and whistled. “This is the hothead?”

“He stabbed my radio because he didn’t like Johnny Cash.” Rictor shrugged. “Can I bill you guys to fix that? It was a direct result of my job.”

“No can do. You didn’t have to have the idiot in your car. Come on. Cable’s waiting for you.” She led the two of them inside. 

As always, Rictor was awed by the size of the X Force manse. It seemed to have a little bit of everything inside of it, including, but not limited to, a pool, multiple workout rooms, an equivalent to a Danger Room, and a well-stocked kitchen. As they walked inside, Rictor noted the absence of the other members of X Force. 

“They’re all out on missions. We’ve been having some issues in the tri-state area as of recently, and they’ve been deployed to help with anti-mutant sentiments, that’s all.   
Productivity in action, unlike you at the moment.” She responded to him, a hint of ice   
in her voice. 

“I can take a hint that I’m not wanted. Just take me to Cable, Neena.” Rictor was getting frustrated. He wanted the lectures to be over, although he knew that they wouldn’t be any time soon. The fact that he sort of deserved it too, was what annoyed him the most. 

She knocked on a closed door located in one of the hallways, and a gruff voice responded. “Come in. I’m assuming you have my two idiots?”

“That I do, boss.” Domino led them in, then shut the door behind them. 

Rictor looked around the room. It was somewhat of a cross between an office and a bedroom, and for some reason, the idea of the violent and fearless leader of X Force having an office amused him immensely. He stifled a chuckle. He chanced a glance at Shatterstar who was just aimlessly looking around the room with no discernible sense of purpose. 

There were two chairs in front of the desk Cable was sitting at. Above the desk was a glass display case housing multiple guns in all makes and models. Aside from that, the room was barren aside from a bookshelf, nightstand, and bed. There seemed to be an aligning bathroom as well, but Rictor could not tell. He waited for a signification that he should sit or do something. 

“Sit.” Cable turned around in his revolving chair to face the two of them. Rictor sat immediately while Shatterstar did so reluctantly, as if he was worried the chair would poison him. “I want to preface all of this by saying that I hold Rictor one hundred percent responsible for this debacle and that you can back out at any time, Shatterstar.” His voice was cool and collected.

“Actually, we have a deal, and I refuse to follow up on my end unless he works with me.” Rictor interjected, then immediately wished that he did not. 

“ _Don’t interrupt me, you inept bounty hunter_.” Cable snapped. “You can barely manage to do a simple job right, oh wait, you did not even do this right. You _failed_. And now, now you have the absolute _gall_ to make this my problem. You have some pretty big balls, Julio.”

“ _That’s_ your first name?” Shatterstar whispered in his ear, startling Rictor.

“Shut up.” He muttered at Shatterstar irritably. 

“What’d you say?!” Cable demanded, sounding more and more disgruntled. His calmness had been very much fleeting. 

“Nothing, sir.” Rictor replied, collecting himself. Someone had to be calm here, and it sure was not going to be Shatterstar, and it was doubtful that Cable would calm down. 

“ _Anyhow_ , I have made the decision that Shatterstar will stay with you in your apartment. He will be under your care, and you will be responsible for his actions while he is affiliated with the special ops side of X Force. You will be given money to feed and house him and whatever you need. What you will not do is bother me with details of you guys’ personal lives. I only want to hear from you two about business matters. I expect the same amount of efficiency out of you as always, Julio.” Cable crossed his arms over his broad chest and stared him down. 

“And what am I supposed to do, Cable? Just sit around while Julio here runs around slaughtering people for you?” Shatterstar finally spoke up. 

“Didn’t Rictor explain anything to you? You’ll be working alongside him as his accomplice. You’ll be, as you say, slaughtering people right alongside him. Is that amicable to you? Wait. I don’t care.” Cable waved his hand at the two of them. “I’ll add money to your account to live off of for the month, Rictor, as you won’t be being paid for this job. For now, you and your new friend get to live it up in your apartment. 

“Thank you, sir.” Rictor said, as respectfully as he could muster without betraying his growing annoyance at the situation that he had gotten himself into. 

“Don’t thank me yet. Wait until you’ve worked with the guy. Then thank me. Or curse yourself. Pick your choice.” Cable closed the door after them as they walked out.

As they walked back to the car, Rictor opened his mouth to speak, but Shatterstar stopped him. “Where’s your apartment?”

“It’s about fifteen minutes from downtown Cleveland. Why?” Rictor went to start his car again to begin the ride back home. 

Shatterstar did not answer but instead pulled out a bagel remainder from one of the pockets on his jacket and started to eat it meticulously. Somehow, he managed to keep his area of the car crumb free. One of the only things he had done nicely for Rictor. 

As they drove, Rictor made a mental note to equip his apartment for two people. It was not that small of an apartment, boasting a half bath, kitchenette, a small living area, and a spacious single bedroom with its own full bath attached. _Damnit_ , he swore mentally. He did not have an extra bed or a couch for Shatterstar to sleep on. There was no way Shatterstar would agree to sleep on the floor, and he refused to share a bed with the disagreeable man. 

He was mulling over this problem still when they arrived, but it was Shatterstar who vocalized it when they got into the apartment and he had had a look around. 

“Rictor. Where will I sleep?”

“Hell if I know, Starboy.” He replied, glumly, placing his bets on the locale of ‘in his bed’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can not wait to write this next chapter, and I am happy I have been in the mood to write lately! I love these two!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar and Rictor have breakfast and chill? Just kidding. But they do share a bed and eat breakfast...

“Move over, asshole!” Rictor kicked Shatterstar in the shins as they crammed themselves into Rictor’s double bed. Not only was Shatterstar tall and bony, he took up way more of the bed than was appropriate for someone sharing a bed.  


“Make me!” Shatterstar retorted, viciously kicking back. He curled into a ball on the bed, somewhat giving Rictor more leg room.  


Rictor realized this was as good as he was going to get, and soon he fell asleep, dreaming of sweet nothings.  


He was awakened roughly at about five in the morning by Shatterstar shaking him agitatedly. “Wake up, Julio! Wake up!”  


“Huh? What?” He flailed wildly in bed, almost knocking over the lamp on the bedside table with his gesticulating.  


Shatterstar backhanded him in the face, hard. “I want breakfast. This is when I normally get up; I do not know where your utensils are.”  


“You have got to be kidding me. Listen here, you moronic jerk, I am _not_ your maid. I am _not_ your cook, and most notably? _I. Am. Not. Your. Friend._ ” He rubbed his face. He could feel his face turning red where he had been slapped. “And furthermore? If you lay your hands on me again, I will cut them off.”  


“Yeah, sure.” Shatterstar retorted, sullenly. “If I burn down your apartment, that’s on you for not making me breakfast.” He walked out of the room.  


Rictor sighed. He should probably watch this. He did not want unnecessary damage to the apartment. He just did not want to be up this early babysitting this incompetent fool making breakfast. He had not bought groceries in a week, so he was not even sure what Shatterstar would find. He knew he did not have bagels, that was for sure. He did not even like bagels. He knew Shatterstar would want them, however.  


As he was thinking this, Shatterstar yelled from the kitchen. “Do you have any bagels?!”  


“NO!” He shouted back. “I DON’T LIKE BAGELS!”  
There was silence, then Shatterstar returned to the room and flicked on the light, revealing Rictor in the middle of getting dressed. He was wearing nothing but boxers and a white tank-top.  


“Can you give me a little privacy?” He asked peevishly. He was not ashamed of his body at all, but he also was not fond of a total stranger giving him a look over like that. Definitely not on his list of things he wanted in his life.  


Shatterstar ignored his request and tossed Rictor’s car keys at him, hitting him in the head. “We need to go to the store.” His eyes were glued to Rictor.  


“Let me guess: you want bagels.” Rictor crossed his arms. “I’m not taking you to the store for bagels. It’s too early. Everything will be closed.”  


“Why not? I’ve learned from the people on Earth that there’s a store called Wal-Mart that is always open. We can get bagels there, I am sure.” Shatterstar was almost whining at this point. His voice was sort of high-pitched, and it was really pissing Rictor off.  


“I said no bagels, and I mean no bagels.” Rictor rubbed the area between his eyes. This was turning into a massive headache for him, and all he wanted was to go back to bed. “Make some eggs. It isn’t that hard to make eggs. Not even you could fuck that up, I’m sure. Let me get dressed, and I will be out there shortly.”  


He turned away from Shatterstar, and he heard the door close behind him. He sighed in relief. Finally. Some peace and quiet from the never-ending chatter brought on by his new charge. He pulled on a loose t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and walked into the kitchen to see Shatterstar aggressively cracking eggs into a pan.  


“Well, you’re on the right track, I guess.” He pushed him out of the way, using his superior weight to move the other man. He started to fry up the eggs and make omelets for the two of them. “Do you want cheese or anything in your omelet? I don’t have much in my fridge, but I have some things.”  


Shatterstar shook his head, then seemed to reconsider. “Bacon.”  


Of course Shatterstar would want the one kind of meat that Rictor rarely kept in his apartment. Rictor was not much of a bacon person, thus, unless he was prepared for morning guests, he did not keep that ingredient in his apartment. “I don’t have any.” He winced, waiting for the inevitable, loud, and possibly destructive, outburst from Shatterstar.  


Surprisingly, there was none. Just a disappointed little grunting noise. It sounded like a mix of a cat mewing and a man grunting with a deep voice. Very unique. Rictor mentally relaxed with a feeling of relief, although he was still wary of an angry fit from his charge.  


Within a half hour, they were both sitting in Rictor’s small living room eating eggs off of paper plates with animal faces on them. Rictor was a child at heart, and he loved those little animal face plates more than he loved himself, although that was true of most things, although he would never admit it. They were also drinking coffee out of some old college mugs from colleges Rictor had never attended. He had bought a whole bunch of them at a yard sale for extremely cheap to stock his little apartment. Shatterstar did not like coffee, but was apparently forcing himself to drink it. Rictor had no comment for that.  


“These are good….” Shatterstar murmured, his mouth full of omelet which he had consented to have cheese put on.  


“Thanks. So I was thinking today that we could go to the store, stock up on groceries, and maybe get you some more toiletries and changes of clothing. Cable gave me money to take care of you with, so I am going to just give that to you and hope that you know how to use US dollars.” Rictor felt no desire to be Shatterstar’s shopping babysitter.  


“I’m not sure what to do in the clothing department. I spend very little time in the leisure, Rictor. I’m a fighter. Not someone who sits around and does nothing while waiting for missions. My mission is to find where the fight is and go to it.” Shatterstar’s voice sounded a lot more confident now. He sounded, for the first time since trying to butcher Longshot, like an adult and not like a teenager begging for a bagel.  


“Yeah, well it isn’t time for you to be a caped crusader. I need you to help me take out the people that X Force wants dead. Understand?” Rictor stood up and took both his and Shatterstar’s plates to the garbage can and pressed them into it with no little effort. It had been awhile since he had taken out the trash, much to his personal shame.  


“Fine. But I want to go soon. I hate sitting around like this. Laziness does not suit me, Julio.” Shatterstar said, sounding somewhat mollified. “When can we go to the store?”  


“Well, I prefer not to shop at Walmart. I might be a slightly lazy, bachelor, mercenary, but I am not completely desperate. We can wait for Target or something to open. Or, we could go the shopping mall near here. I am sure we can find something to suit your tastes. Ever been to a mall, Shatterstar?” He yawned; he was in a much better mood now that he had eaten breakfast.  


“What’s a mall?” Shatterstar asked, leaning forwards, putting his weight on his elbows on his knees.  


“It’s a bunch of stores all clumped together in one area for people to shop in. There’s all sort of things there. Don’t you have that kind of thing in the area you’re from?” He asked, curious about Shatterstar’s origins. It had not been explicitly said whether he was a mutant, but he had assumed that was so. Longshot and Dazzler were both mutants, and he looked like them. During Longshot’s overnight stay, it had been revealed to him that Shatterstar was indeed their son. This explained a lot.  


“I’m from Mojoworld, as you might have grasped. I was there as a performer, a player, a gladiator. Someone for the entertainment of the masses. But not by my own will. I was born there, forced into servitude by Mojo himself, but I escaped. I escaped and came here in search of Longshot who had escaped before and who I had been told was my father.” Shatterstar was a little more quiet as he discussed his past.  


“I’m sorry… So I take it that you _don’t_ know what a shopping mall is then? You didn’t get a chance to visit any on Mojoworld?” Rictor chanced this query again. He did not know how to broach this topic at all. His partner had all but admitted that up until very recently he had been a slave. How did someone even talk about that? That was not something you just brought into casual conversation.  


“No.” Shatterstar glanced at the clock. It was six thirty now.  


Stores would be opening in about two and a half hours. Rictor yawned. “Can I go back to bed until we have to leave? Or is there something you want to do that is actually feasible at this time of the morning?”  


“I don’t care.” Shatterstar responded, staring absentmindedly off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. “I think I might go outside and practice my blade-work on some of those sad looking trees you have outside the apartment-“  


“Absolutely not. Those aren’t mine. Those are the property of my landlord. I can’t have you chopping them up like some sort of maniac. That’s _not_ okay at all.” Rictor shook his head. “Come on, Shatterstar, just come back to bed. I’ll set an alarm for us to get up again, okay?” He went to take Shatterstar’s arm.  


“Don’t tell me what to do!” Shatterstar jerked his arm away like he had been burnt. “And don’t touch me!”  


“Then don’t chop up those trees, asshat.” Rictor crossed his arms. That seemed to be a constant position for him in interactions with Shatterstar, and it was starting to get old. He would need to start developing new stances in which to stand whenever he talked to Shatterstar. “I’m going to bed. Come on.”  


Shatterstar groaned behind him, but followed him nonetheless. “Only if we can get bagels.”  


The kid was really fixated on bagels. Rictor wondered who had given them to him. They seemed to be his favorite food on Earth. “Fine. But only if you behave. Remember, until we get to the store, I hold all the money. I’ll get cash back when we go to the store, so you can buy your own clothing and food. You can keep them in my drawers and fridge though, just label them. Understand?”  


Shatterstar nodded. The two of them walked back into the bedroom which was becoming slowly lit with the early morning glow of dawn. It was beautiful. At least Rictor thought it was beautiful. He watched as Shatterstar curled back up into bed, still wearing his boots. He was too tired to bug him about it, however, and Rictor crawled into bed next to him. He would clean the sheets next time he did laundry. He had gotten grosser things on the sheets than the mud of someone’s boots.  


“Good morning, Shatterstar…” He murmured as he started to doze back off again. He fell asleep, clutching his blanket to his chest as the morning rose around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is sort of slow. It's a filler; I did not want the next chapter to be super long, so I wrote this one as an entryway into what will be a very entertaining (in my opinion) chapter 5!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rictor and Shatterstar go on domestic adventures!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you pay attention to the tags, I have been steadily editing them, as I did not entirely plan this thing out, I did it as a spur of the moment type of thing. I added 'major character death' out of a fear that someone might die eventually. Not Ric or Star. Don't worry. I think. Some members of Sniktfam are probably gonna be in this at some point. Not sure. Added them to be safe. Enjoy this chapter of shenanigans provided by Ric and Star!

Rictor woke up a few hours later to see Shatterstar curled into a ball sleeping next to him. He was drooling on one of Rictor’s throw pillows, his hair strewn across his face. Despite his mounting annoyance with the man, Rictor could not deny the fact that he was very, very attractive. He gently tapped him on the shoulder, noting the time, that it was ten thirty in the morning. 

“It’s time to get up to go shopping.” He whispered softly. 

Shatterstar rolled over, almost tipping off the bed. “Five more minutes…” He muttered this phrase almost imperceptibly. 

“This was your idea, Shatterstar. Get up.” He gently shook him. 

Now _that_ got a rise out of his partner. Shatterstar lunged for his throat. “Do not lay your hands on me, Rictor. I will slit your throat in the night.” 

“Christ! Someone doesn’t like being woken up in the morning.” Rictor moved swiftly out of the way, noting Shatterstar’s grogginess. He wondered if he should start sleeping with a gun under his pillow if waking up Shatterstar would always go like this. 

“I’m awake now. So let’s go.” Shatterstar started to get dressed in his same jacket and white pants with their adjoining black, leather, assless chaps, for a lack of better words. 

“Your pants are some of the worst things I have ever seen. I hope you know that, Shatterstar.” Rictor put on a jacket and started to walk to the car. 

“You’re wearing sweatpants and a worn-out t shirt. I don’t want to hear it from you, Julio.” Shatterstar retorted, irritably. He got into the passenger side of the car. The knife was still embedded in the radio. He pulled it out, dragging wires with it. Rictor winced but did not say anything as he fired up the ignition of the car after letting Shatterstar get settled into the seat. They drove out of the small parking area of the apartment complex and onto the highway. Within minutes they had arrived at the little plaza in which the Walmart was located. Shatterstar looked out the window as he parked, and he proceeded to make offhanded comments about Rictor’s ability to park the car. 

“Shut up, asshole.” Rictor snapped, pulling into a spot. “There, happy? Good. I don’t care.” He got out of the car and headed for the bank so he could withdraw money from Cable’s card for Shatterstar. He was not sure if Shatterstar knew how money worked, but he would let the alien figure that out for himself. He did not want to spend more time with him than he had to, if he could help it. It was bad enough that they had to live together, work together, and sleep together. Yes, it had been Rictor’s idea, but he had not anticipated Cable agreeing to it, or the fact that the reason it had come to fruition was his fear of Shatterstar’s damned father. 

They walked into the bank together. There were two tellers. His choices were an older woman who was giving Shatterstar a dirty look, presumably for his overall outlandish appearance or a young man with hipster glasses and a smirk that made Rictor think he wanted to take Shatterstar home for the night. If only he was getting that look. He would not mind a good lay. God knows it had been awhile since he had had a good night out with someone. He opted for the young, male teller. The older woman was not rubbing him quite right for some reason. 

“Hey, Mark.” He read the employee’s nametag. “Mind withdrawing three hundred dollars in cash for me from this account?” He handed the teller the information for Cable’s account at the bank. It was always a little amusing to imagine Cable doing the little things like banking and grocery shopping while looking like a bodybuilder and the Terminator had had a love child. 

“Uh, sure…” The young man typed a few things into the computer. “Can I have your ID?” 

Rictor complied and handed it to the guy and waited, tapping his foot on the tile floor while watching Shatterstar stare at the fish in the tank behind him. He was waiting for something to go wrong, because he knew it was inevitable. Bringing Shatterstar anywhere was an impossible task to get done painlessly. 

“Here’s your things.” An envelope, his ID, and Cable’s information were all foisted upon him in an unceremonious pile. “And you can tell your twink friend over there that he is welcome to give me his number. He looks cute but clueless. My kind of fellow. I like the goofy ones. They make me laugh.” 

Rictor felt a little bit awkward. For all that he enjoyed taking the ever loving piss out of Shatterstar, this stranger doing so rubbed him the wrong way. “Sure. But I don’t think that he’s up for grabs right now.” He shrugged. “He is sort of cute though.” He whispered conspiratorially. 

“I’m telling you, buddy. He could be it.” He winked, then gestured for the next person behind Rictor to come up and do their business. It was clearly time for Rictor to leave, and he was very grateful for it. 

“We’re going, Shatterstar.” Rictor said, gruffly. He gestured for his charge to follow him out, and for once, Shatterstar listened. The two of them walked out of the bank and down the sidewalk to the Walmart supercenter right next door. He handed Shatterstar the money. “Go get some toiletries and clothing for yourself. Nothing too outlandish. You don’t want to stand out, and I don’t want you to make my house stink with shampoo. Understand?” 

Shatterstar cocked his head in confusion. “What’re toiletries?” 

Rictor sighed. This is what he had anticipated from Shatterstar. “Toiletries are things like deodorant and shampoo and soap. Do you know what those are?” 

“Yeah. They have all those in the hotel bathroom.” Shatterstar seemed to understand a little bit better, as if though the dots had connected in his mind. 

“Good. Go nuts in there. Meet me back at the doors in an hour. Alright?” He walked away towards the technology section of Walmart. The stuff there was very low quality, but he liked looking at it as a way to pass the time. It was certainly better than watching Shatterstar bumble around a Walmart. Although frankly, that sounded like a very amusing way to pass the time. 

He fiddled around a little bit with the applications on a couple tablets and looked at a couple computers as possible replacements for the one in his house, although he would never dream of buying a computer from Walmart. He would find something he liked here, and then he would go online, or to the store near his apartment, and find something similar but of better quality. 

When he was done with that, he checked his phone. About twenty minutes had passed, and he had some grocery shopping to do now that he had more than just himself living in the apartment. The first thing he acquired was an air mattress that he could set up in his living area for Shatterstar to sleep on so he could have his own bed back. He then proceeded to buy more food to feed the two of them, including both bacon and bagels for Shatterstar. 

He filled his shopping cart, and went to the checkout aisle, only to hear a familiar, angry voice arguing with a cashier. 

“What do you mean I can’t carry this in the store?!” Shatterstar’s voice carried over the small crowd of people surrounding the scene. 

“Sir, I am going to have to ask you to hand over your sword. Those are definitely not permitted in this Walmart supercenter.” 

Rictor pushed to the front of the crowd to see Shatterstar, surrounded by Walmart employees in vests, brandishing a sword in front of his cart. “Shatterstar! Stand down!” Rictor snapped angrily. “I don’t know where you were keeping that sword, but you can not have that out in public! Buy your things and then let’s go.” 

Shatterstar noticed him standing there and cocked his head like a confused cat. “Rictor? They’re saying I have to put my things back, that I don’t have enough money! You gave me money!” He yelled this indignantly. 

_Shit. He probably doesn’t have the greatest comprehension of money. He is an alien, after all_ Rictor thought, realizing that maybe he should have stuck with the young man. It was too late to go back now, however. All he could do was try to clean up this mess. 

“Hey, I can take care of whatever he can’t pay for. I’m his partner.” He stepped towards the employees, and gestured again for Shatterstar to put down his blade. This time he did. 

“You can? Thank you very much, sir. At Walmart, we are not very keen on being threatened by mad men with swords, you know?” One Walmart cashier walked up to him as the rest dispersed back to their tasks. “Also, congratulations!” 

“Pardon?” Rictor was confused now. 

“You and your boyfriend! You said he’s your partner! Or am I not using the right pronouns. I just think that it’s great that more people are open.” The cashier shot him a pleased smile. 

Rictor sighed. “He and I aren’t- We aren’t- No. I am gay, but I am not gay for that particular man over there. He’s a little bit much for my tastes, you know what I mean…. Kevin?” He read the man’s name tag. 

Kevin nodded, understandingly; he then began to bag Shatterstar’s remaining groceries. Rictor caught a glimpse of some clothing, a lot of fruit, and a surprising quantity of beef jerky. This was not going to be a cheap Walmart trip. 

After all of that, Rictor and Shatterstar were finally able to wheel their respective carts out of the supercenter. Rictor looked over at his charge. “I bought you your own air mattress that you can sleep in at night in the living room. You don’t have to share a bed with me anymore, thank goodness. Good news for the both of us, amiright? I also bought all the food you were wanting, among other things.” Rictor did not like Shatterstar all that much, but he considered caring for him akin to a mission at this point, and he would be damned if he did not do it well. 

“Thanks.” Shatterstar responded tersely. “You did not have to.” 

They were riding home in silence when Rictor thought of something else that Shatterstar could probably benefit from. “Shatterstar, do you know how to work a phone?” 

“Yes, of course. I am not a complete moron, Rictor!” Shatterstar snapped at him, his face the epitome of indignance embodied. v“Then let’s go to the shop near my house and see if we can get you caught up to the rest of the world in the terms of technology.” Rictor made a turn into the street near his apartment. The phone store was right next to the apartment. It was run by an older woman who always asked Rictor how he was doing. For a little store, they sure sold all sorts of technology, ranging from phones to consoles to computers. Rictor refused to buy anything of that type in person anywhere else. 

When he walked in with Shatterstar, the owner of the store let out a little gasp. “You found a man!” 

“No, Mrs. Daniel, this is just a partner of mine in business who needs a phone upgrade. I’m putting him on my plan.” Rictor sighed. This was the second time that had happened to him. He needed to make it clearer that he and his charge were not an item. 

“Oh.” She grew quiet, then became a little bit more animated. “Let me help you, my darlings.” She walked out, a little African-American lady coming barely up to the top of Shatterstar’s chest. She guided them to the phone display in the middle of the store. “What are you in the market for today?” 

Rictor looked doubtfully at Shatterstar who shrugged. That was he had expected. Utter cluelessness. He was not too annoyed. “Just give him something sturdy with a lot of space and a good data plan. Can you do that, ma’am?” 

“Anything for you, Rictor dearest.” She smiled at him then walked back to her counter and rummaged around until she found a small, black Samsung phone. “It’s not the newest out there, but it is sturdy, and it will work with most anybody. It’s simple to use and has a simple interface for someone who doesn’t use phones a lot, if that is the case for you, young man.” She addressed Shatterstar. 

“Thank you.” Rictor interjected, before Shatterstar could say something off-putting or downright stupid. “I’ll order a SIM card from my apartment. How much will the phone be?” 

“Do you want a monthly payment plan? Or do you want to pay it all now?” She asked in response, pulling out a calculator and peering at him over a pair of glasses. 

“Now is fine.” Rictor replied. “How much?” 

“Just one hundred and fifty. It’s a decent phone. Nothing special. You know what I’m saying, Julio?” She said, using his name. He had told her once, and he could not believe she remembered. 

“Thanks.” He paid with his card and then handed the phone to Shatterstar. “You can’t use it until we put a SIM card in it. That allows you to actually talk to people on it. Don’t stab it or do anything to break it, or I will not buy you another one, understand?” 

Shatterstar nodded and pocketed it in one of his jacket pockets. The two of them walked out of the store, and Rictor drove the extra minute and a half to the parking garage by the apartment and parked there. From there, they took the groceries and hauled them into the apartment. When they arrived, Domino was sitting there. 

“Neena?” Rictor questioned, almost dropping his bags on the floor in shock. He did not doubt her ability to break into his little apartment, but he was not quite sure why she was there. 

“I have your first mission. I need you to find someone and bring them to X Force. Standard retrieval mission. We want to recruit them as a part of the team, but they have gone off grid. You game?” She smirked at them. “I see you’ve gone domestic. Anyone think you’re dating yet?” 

“Shut up. How much does it pay?” Rictor asked. He was a professional, after all. “Fifty thousand. Each.” 

“We’ll do it.” Rictor said. “No harm done to the mark?” 

“Some. Appropriate amount. You lay a hand on them beyond what is necessary, and Cable will have your ass.” 

“Understood.” 

“I will give you more details when you check in with us pre-mission tomorrow. You get to wear X Force uniforms. This isn’t a covert operation as much as it is a semi violent recruitment that no one wants to do.” 

“Oh? And why’s that? I know I am not supposed to ask questions, but I can not help but be a little bit curious.” Rictor wanted to know why everyone else in the normally fearless team would balk at this mission. 

“His name is Daken Akihiro. Son of Wolverine. Ex-Dark Avenger and Ex drug lord. He’s very formidable and powerful. More details to come. I’ll see you tomorrow for more, Rictor. Take care of yourself.” She walked past both of them and out of the door. 

Rictor looked at Shatterstar. “And with that, she more or less just told us to get fucked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to update. I have been at work more, and I have been very very tired. School is also sort of hard as well, so that is a complication as well. But what matters is that I eventually did update lol. 
> 
> Just a warning. I will be studying abroad from July 13 to Dec. 2. My updates will hopefully happen once or twice a month at least. But no guarantees that the story won't go on a mini hiatus in that absence (if I don't finish before then)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar and Rictor get their next mission, and it's a deadly one! But can they keep from killing each other before they get there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys! Thanks for being patient! I am sorry for not updating; I have been very busy. I hope this chapter makes it worth it!

So, Rictor, tell me more about this Daken guy.” Shatterstar walked next to Rictor as they walked into the X-Force base for their mission briefing for their hunt for Daken. 

“I don’t know much about him, if I am being completely honest. He’s Wolverine’s biological son. He has the claws, healing factor, and everything. He isn’t made of adamantium, I don’t think, however. I heard from someone he has pheromone powers, but I don’t know if I believe that.” Rictor put his keycard against the security panel, and the door opened for him. 

“This sounds like a good time. Going in blind against someone who can heal from anything we throw at them. I love this kind of thing.” Shatterstar said, deadpan, behind him. 

“Was that an attempt at sarcasm?” Rictor hid a smile. “You’re getting better, my young apprentice.” 

Shatterstar grimaced and rolled his eyes as they strode into Cable’s office/bedroom. The man was standing with his back to them, but when he heard them come in, he turned to face them. The look on his face was not pleasant, but then again, when was it? It was Cable they were talking about, after all. 

“So, Domino found you?” He deigned to greet them and got right down to business. 

“I haven’t moved apartments from the ones you’ve been renting me.” Rictor responded in kind, doing away with a proper greeting. 

“Good. Very good. Anyhow, I believe that this will be your most challenging mission yet. Perhaps it is good that you’re working with a partner for this. I doubt your earthquake powers will do much against someone who can heal broken bones in seconds. This guy will make Shatterstar’s healing factor look like nothing.” Cable gestured to two packages sitting on his desks. “These are for you two. Open them.” 

Rictor and Shatterstar both complied willingly and found uniforms inside in black and pale gold with the black ‘x’ of X Force emblazoned on them. “Subtle.” Rictor snorted. “But won’t Daken see us coming a mile away with these on? How come we have to do this looking like reject X Men?” He looked inside his box further and found a handgun with a small box. He opened it slowly to reveal two gleaming bullets. “No way. Cable. You got _those_ bullets? How? Why? I thought we weren’t supposed to kill this guy!” 

“If you need to shoot him in the leg and slow him down and stop his factor long enough to maim him enough to drag his ass to us, then so be it. Carbonadium is extremely rare, but contrary to what Domino may have told you, I have no issues with maiming Daken. Once the bullet is out of his system, he will heal normally, but by then, hopefully, we will have coerced him properly to join us.” 

“Ok, so I hate to ask, but I see a big issue with this plan. Daken seems very, shall I say, stubborn, just based on the fact you want to whip out some of the rarest metals in the world to beat him with. Why would you want him on an elite team of mutant supercommandos? And won’t he just bolt when he heals?” 

“Oh, Rictor. You don’t see my total plan. And that’s fine with me. I just need you to get him here, and then you will see how I will get him to join my X Force. Oh. I almost forgot. Shatterstar, we have modified your swords to be better able to stand up to Daken’s claws. Apparently, he can cut through metal with those, and I don’t want your swords to be taken halfway through a fight. We strengthened them substantially, but still made it so you can channel energy through them.” 

“Fantastic. I am liking this more and more as we go along.” Shatterstar accepted the blades. “You made them lighter! I like it!” He spun them experimentally in his hands, narrowly missing Rictor. 

“Watch where you swing those things, Shatterstar!” Rictor yelped, moving out of the way. Cable chuckled in the background as Rictor winced as Shatterstar came too close for comfort to the hanging light in Cable’s room. 

“Now that you have everything, you can head out. Good luck, have fun, and most of all, don’t die.” Cable turned away from them, leaving them to carry their gear out in silence. 

Domino was at the door waiting for them. She smirked. “Let’s get you boys geared up in spandex.” 

“I’m thrilled. Really, I am.” Rictor rolled his eyes, already dreading this debacle. 

The suits were not as bad as he thought they would be. The top was black arms with a pale yellow torso and the black X Force logo in the center. The pants were a basic black with a matching yellow strip down the side. They fit perfectly and were well fitting enough to look good, but loose enough to be practical. Rictor threw a jacket on over the showy top and strapped his utility belt to the suit. “I dig this more than I thought In would, I am not gonna lie.” He put the gun in his thigh holster and prepped the rest of his weapons he kept in the inner part of his jacket. 

Rictor walked over to where Shatterstar was still getting situated. “You okay in there, or did you drown?” He asked, laughing a little bit. 

Shatterstar came out. He looked pretty sharp as well. He had taken a page from Rictor’s book and had also doffed his jacket over top of his black and yellow top. The pants did wonders for those long, long legs disappearing into black combat boots. Rictor shook his head. Why was he admiring Shatterstar like a side of beef? This was ridiculous. He really needed a boyfriend in his life. If he was so thirsty he was pining over the man he had been once sent to kill, that was just sad. 

“You ready, Shatterstar?” He asked, looking him over once more, then stopping himself. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Shatterstar seemed sort of out of it, but that was besides the point. Rictor needed a location and some photos, or he was not going to get anywhere with this guy. 

“Hey, Dom. Where’s the information on this guy? Last sighting, photos, that kind of thing.” He held out a hand to receive the small packet she handed him. He opened it to find a couple of maps of cities nearby as well as images of a tall, well muscled and tattooed, Asian man with a mohawk. “Interesting. Another guy that doesn’t blend into a crowd. I like these easy marks.” 

“Don’t say that yet. He has claws.” Domino smirked as she flicked his nose and started to walk away. “If anything goes wrong, we won’t come. We’ll have a funeral, and there’ll be drinking involved, if that’s okay with you guys.” 

“Comforting. Real comforting, Neena.” Rictor shook his head and started to look at the maps. Some of the towns were little dumps. Others were actual cities, like Cincinnati. “I guess we will start small and work our way up. Like working our way up the food chain. Ask around to see if anything shady has been going on, all that good shit that they do in detective shows.” 

“Detective shows?” Shatterstar cocked his head. “What’re those?” 

“You know, shows that involve some guy discovering why crimes happen and then uncovering whodunnit.” Rictor waved a hand dismissively, “I’ll show you when we get back from the mission.” 

“Promise?” Shatterstar said, his voice growing simultaneously soft and confrontational, as if he was going to threaten him, but shyly. 

“Yes. Sure.” Rictor was just happy the two of them were at a point that they were not trying to poke holes in each other and had a common enemy. That was something important to have in a team up. 

When they left the compound, Rictor beat Shatterstar to the car somehow, despite him being considerably shorter in the legs department than Shatterstar. He sat in the car, planning out their next moves, but for some reason, he could not quit imagining Shatterstar’s legs in tight pants. Okay. This was ridiculous. He needed to get on a dating app. Or something. What were the kids doing nowadays? Tinder? Or some shit like that? He shook his head like a dog ridding itself of water or fleas. This was the worst thing about being single. Everything looked good that was not totally awful. At least that was how he was operating at the moment. 

Shatterstar climbed into the Jeep next to him, cramming his too tall body into the small space. “Are we going to hunt him down?” 

“Yeah, eventually. We need to go back to the house first. I need to get luggage and some more gear. I can’t just go out with just one gun, a couple knives, garotte wire, and two rare bullets.” As he said that, he realized that just what he carried in the inner pockets of his jacket made him somewhat of a walking mini arsenal. “I need at least two more guns.” 

“And where will you put them? These pants don’t hide much.” Shatterstar did not seem stoked about the idea of Rictor packing that much heat. 

“Ohio is an open carry state, and I can just hide the other two in my jacket, as I doubt Ohio wrote this law planning for some mutant to walk around carrying three guns at once, with the intent to kill the son of one of the best X-Men in history.” Rictor shrugged as he started the car. “Enough technicalities. Let’s drive.” He put the windows down. He was already thinking about a battle plan and how he would approach Daken. He was probably going to put Shatterstar on distraction duty and hope that Shatterstar could keep Daken occupied long enough for Rictor to subdue him. Although, maybe they would get lucky and Daken would just come with them, although Rictor doubted that that would happen if he was half as stubborn as Logan. 

“You’re insane, Julio,” Shatterstar sulked, “and you’re a coward.” 

“Excuse me?” Rictor grew quiet, curious at what he had done to gain Shatterstar’s disdain to the point of the other man calling him a coward. 

“You don’t deal with things face to face. You dart away from them. You don’t fight fair; you use these ranged weapons instead of fighting like a man, like me.” He sneered at him. v“Okay, you know what? When we get to the apartment? I am going to set your bagels on fire for that.” Rictor said, vindictively. “You don’t get to tell me I’m a coward when your mutant or alien or whatever powers are _engineered_ for you to be a fighter. I cause _earthquakes_. That’s a little bit harder to do up close. I’m also not gigantic like you, and I don’t have your training. So you can _shut the hell up_ about what I can and can’t do, before I blow your head off. I’m sure this gun would stop your healing factor too.” 

“Pull over the car!” Shatterstar grabbed at the wheel with both hands, causing them to swerve on the highway, nearly hitting another car. “We need to fight this out!” 

“No. We don’t.” Rictor wrestled the wheel from Shatterstar’s grasp somehow. “We can settle this at home. Not in the middle of the highway!” 

“Fine.” Shatterstar slumped down in his seat, defeated so easily, for some reason. Rictor was not going to complain about this. He would take his quick victories where he could get them and then pay the price later. That was how life worked, right? 

When they got home, Rictor got out of the car as fast as he could and started sprinting to the small open area behind the apartments. He passed the trees that Shatterstar had threatened to cut up before his partner caught up to him and tackled him to the ground. He was fast and strong and had the advantage of height on Rictor. 

What he did not have, however, was weight as an advantage. He was all air. He had to rely purely on strength to keep Rictor down. Rictor vigorously wriggled out from under him, taking a small knife to Shatterstar’s hands and stabbing vigorously, enough to hurt, not enough to maim. He healed anyhow. 

“Ack!” Shatterstar made a loud guttural noise and rolled off of him and drew his blades. “If that’s how you want it, Julio!” He ran at him, and at that moment, Rictor would have rather had Daken himself pursuing him than Shatterstar. 

The swords looked like they were electric, from a distance, but as he drew rapidly closer, Rictor remembered that Shatterstar’s swords could channel energy. “Shit, shit shit shit shit!” He started running the other way, but Shatterstar caught up to him and body-slammed him, swords in tow, not cutting him, just sending jolts of pure energy up through Rictor. 

Rictor keeled over on the ground and promptly vomited. That had hurt. A lot. Not many things hurt so much he wanted to puke, but here he was. “Cute.” He muttered, standing up. He pulled out his knives and noticed that his opponent looked a bit winded. It was as if though this was a one time stunt. Come to think of it, Shatterstar had never mentioned this talent. Could it be that it tired him out? “I thought you would’ve finished me off! Now who’s the coward?!” He snarled viciously. He wanted this to be out of Shatterstar’s system so he could do his job and get his money. 

“Just give me a chance!” Shatterstar lunged at him, but Rictor was not going to give him the chance to charge up those damned swords again. Rictor ran towards him as well and met him in the middle of the small clearing and the sound of blades clashing overpowered the air. Shatterstar was stronger, but Rictor was heavier and had knife fighting down to an art. The two finally separated after an intense two minutes. Rictor was starting to tire. He was aching all over from the earlier blow, and he noticed Shatterstar did not look like he was feeling the best either. Not that he would admit that. 

“Had enough?” Rictor asked, observing that Shatterstar’s knuckles had already healed from where Rictor had gone at them with the knife. 

“Never!” Shatterstar charged up his swords again. Rictor could feel the electricity in the air. It was at that moment that Rictor mentally slapped himself for not doing this sooner. Ohio may not be prone to earthquakes, but it could be with Rictor’s help. He put his hand to the ground, and the area around Shatterstar shook violently, knocking Shatterstar over backwards. Rictor ran over and knelt down on top of him, knife to Shatterstar’s throat. 

“Yield.” 

Shatterstar proceeded to look away from Rictor defiantly. “I will not.” 

“I’m on top of you with a knife to your throat. I can make you sink into the ground without thinking about it. The Earth is my plaything with my powers.” Rictor’s voice grew much more threatening. 

“Fine. I yield. You are best like this, Rictor.” Shatterstar got up as Rictor let him up. “You are best at your most primal, most savage. No guns, none of this fanciness. Just man to man, mutant to mutant.” 

“Yeah, but that’s not how I fight right now. I’m fighting in a whole new arena, and I’ve evolved to fit it. Can you and your swords do the same?” Rictor retorted as he stormed inside.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar and Rictor are trying not to fight, but now they have a bigger issue on their hands: Shatterstar has no clue how to make a hotel reservation, and Rictor apparently has fanboys!  
> That and the fact that Ric might be a stalker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I added a tag for violence depictions in this fic, because initially when I was planning out this fic I did not really realize that a bounty hunter AU would entail violence, as I dedicated myself to writing this at a weird hour of the night.   
> I am sorry for such slow updates. Between work, prepping for studying abroad, and my summer classes, it can be hard to find time to update. Rest assured that I am enjoying this fic, and I am not losing interest.

They ate lunch in an awkward subdued silence. Any sense of ambience that they had been cultivating was gone. It was all tense, and barely concealed hostility now filled the room. Rictor was still fuming from being called a coward, and he could bet that Shatterstar was angry at being beaten at his own game. 

Rictor picked restlessly at his meat before finally slamming his fork down on the table and walking into the bedroom. They really needed to leave. There was a small town in Ohio near an amusement park called King’s Island that he wanted to check out. It had been one of the towns that had reported a sighting of a sketchy looking man fitting Daken’s description. It seemed like Cable was not above outright pilfering police reports from small towns and cities. 

He chanced a glance at Shatterstar from the safety of his room. Shatterstar looked deep in thought, his eyes shut, his head resting in his hands, elbows up on the table. He was the picture of sweaty contemplation. Rictor packed the last of his things into a backpack. He made sure he had real clothes, not just his X Force gear. He put two more guns on his person, concealed carefully under his jacket. 

He walked back out to Shatterstar. “Let’s go. Daken waits for no one.” He was polite and cordial, treading carefully around Shatterstar. 

“Fine.” Shatterstar stood up. In Rictor’s absence it appeared Shatterstar had eaten both of their food. Rictor ignored that. He noticed in the corner of the apartment the air mattress that they had never set up. That would have to happen eventually. 

The two of them tread somberly to the Jeep, and Rictor loaded it up. “You have everything you need, Shatterstar?” He asked, not wanting to have to turn around for any reason. This trip was already more of a hassle than he wanted it to be. 

“I have my swords. I require nothing else.” Shatterstar replied, seriously. 

Rictor hid a smirk and walked back into the apartment and grabbed a couple changes of clothing for Shatterstar and a toothbrush and cologne. “You need more than that. If you want to be a clean, normal person, you need to actually wear something other than a uniform, y’know?” 

Shatterstar looked confused but did not say anything to oppose or defy Rictor, much to his relief. He did not think he could deal with another fight with Shatterstar. Arguing with him was mentally exhausting, and apparently doing so ran the risk of getting into a physical altercation. 

As Shatterstar crawled into the car, Rictor sighed. He did not want to be this tense the whole ride. He wanted to like his new partner, to not have this awkward tension every time they were together. He would have to swallow his pride and be the bigger man, although he knew that their most recent fight, and the fights in general were overall Shatterstar’s fault. 

“I’m sorry we fought. I hope we can work well as a team.” He held out a hand to Shatterstar, a peace offering. “Partners?” 

Shatterstar looked down at the hand, then at him and nodded mutely. “Partners.” He took his hand stiffly and shook it vigorously. 

And with that, they drove off. The radio was still broken, so they drove in silence. Thankfully, the town was only a few hours away. Butlerville, Ohio was a small hamlet about twenty five minutes outside of the amusement park King’s Island. Daken had been sighted between both of those sites. Why Daken would want to go to either place was beyond Rictor, but he was resigned to his fate. 

Rictor looked over at Shatterstar as he drove and handed him his phone. “Look up hotels near Butlerville.” 

“Alright.” Shatterstar awkwardly started to type on the phone. It was obvious that he was not accustomed to using a phone, but knew how to use one well enough to be functional. That was enough for Rictor. 

Shortly after, Shatterstar had found a Cincinnati Marriott Northeast to stay in that was not too exorbitantly priced. Rictor handed him his debit card, driving carefully with one hand. “Make a reservation.” 

Shatterstar nodded. Rictor hoped that Shatterstar had the common sense needed to figure out the relatively basic process of getting a hotel room. If not, he could always ask, right? 

“Rictor?” 

“Yes, Shatterstar?” 

“What kind of bedroom should I get? Twin, queen, king? Two beds?” Shatterstar sounded utterly baffled by this whole process, much to Rictor’s distress. He did not want to have to go through the process of renting a room when they got there. Reservations were so much better, even if they were only a few hours in advance. 

“Get a room with two twin beds. Just pay for it now if you can.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I will handle things when we arrive at the hotel.” 

Shatterstar nodded uncertainly and went back to tapping determinedly at the phone screen. Rictor got a sneaking suspicion that he would regret this decision, but he was already too far in to back out now. 

About five minutes later he heard a groan from Shatterstar. “I think I messed up, Rictor.” 

“What’d you do?” He asked, wishing now that he had had Shatterstar use the X Force card and not his own personal card. He was not sure what bout of stupidity possessed him there. 

“I think I got a room with only one twin bed and not two, Rictor. It is paid for, however. Should I try to get a new room?” Shatterstar sounded nervous and slightly ashamed, as if he was worried Rictor would yell at him over this, and Rictor was halfway inclined to do just that. 

However, he did not. “Just try to get the room refunded and then get a room with the right number of beds. A twin bed is too tiny for two full grown adults, even if I did like you more than I do.” Rictor took an exit leading them southwest. 

Shatterstar’s shoulders slumped a little bit, making Rictor feel slightly guilty for his offhanded comment, but he ignored the guilt. Was he supposed to be bosom buddies with Shatterstar? This was a man who only a couple days ago he had been assigned to kill, after all. Friendships were things that took time. 

“I think I fixed it. The room is cancelled.” Shatterstar shoved the phone in Rictor’s face. 

“Gah! Don’t do that! I’m trying to drive!” Rictor pushed him away, then grabbed the phone and glanced at it quickly. “Okay, now get a room with two twin beds. Okay? Non-smoking if you can manage it.” 

They arrived about two hours later, with Shatterstar having successfully made the reservations only about forty minutes beforehand. Shatterstar’s ability to use a phone was apparently not extensive, and definitely did not cover reserving hotel rooms. But now it did. 

The hotel attendant raised an eyebrow when they walked in in uniform carrying two large duffel bags. “Is there a comic con near here?” He asked, obviously trying not to laugh. 

“No. My name’s Julio? I have a reservation for tonight. It was made very recently, and I am sorry about that.” He put out a hand and Shatterstar handed him his card. 

“Julio…. Julio…. Ah. Julio Richter?” The hotel attendant looked up at him. “Is that your real name?” 

“Excuse me?” Now it was Rictor’s turn to be amused. 

“That’s the name of a superhero. Are you a cosplayer? There’s no way the real Rictor would stay in Butlerville….” The guy was obviously excited. Rictor rolled his eyes. He had never been asked if he was the real deal. 

Shatterstar snorted behind him, irritating Rictor a little bit more than the cosplayer comment. “No, I’m the real deal. I’m not with the X Men though. Just trying to do some side work for a smaller team. Keep it on the down low, will you? I’m not supposed to draw attention to myself and my teammate.” He slipped the hotel attendant a fifty-dollar bill. 

“Can-can you show me one of your powers?” The guy was visibly trembling now. Rictor was about ninety percent sure that if he made the ground shake it would make the whole hotel think there was an earthquake, an anomaly for Ohio, and a sure way to draw attention to himself, and it would also cause the poor guy to have a heart attack. 

“Maybe later. I’ve driven a long way. Can I have my room key?” He held out his hand. “Do I need to pay?” The attendant shook his head. “It’ll be deducted through the reservation site, but I’ll give you an employee discount. My treat. Here’s your keys. There’s a hotel restaurant and a pool here too.” 

“Thanks. We’ll only be here a night. You’ve been great.” Rictor walked away, Shatterstar in tow. He shook his head, amused. In all his years of working on X-Teams he had never been recognized. It had always been Cable, or Domino, or when he had operated under the X Men, it had been Jean or Logan or Scott. This was a welcome change. But that was not the focus of the night. The focus of the night was to look around the tiny town and see if there was any trace of Daken or anyone who had seen him. 

The room was comfortable. Two twin beds were side by side with a desk in between. The desk had one of those handy lamps with USB ports in it, for charging phones. Rictor proceeded to store two of his guns in the hotel safe. He also changed out of his X Force gear. He did not need another superhero encounter. For all of Cable’s talk about professionalism, having them wear uniforms that made them stand out like that was a move of idiocy. “Take that stupid thing off, Shatterstar. I brought some of your t-shirts and jeans.” 

As Shatterstar changed, Rictor looked outside. Their room looked out at the outdoor pool. It looked nice. Rictor would not have minded a swim, and was considering it when a lightbulb went off in his head. The pool looked very familiar from one of the grainy pictures that had been gathered from a security camera of Daken. He rifled around in his bag and found the folder of Daken information. A couple pictures were of him on streets from a few weeks ago, one was of him in the amusement park from about three or four days ago, a few more were from assorted dates of him walking in and out of stores at different locations, and then there was one that was the most recent of him laying outside. Rictor squinted at it. He held it up to the window in the late afternoon light. The fence behind Daken matched, as did the beach chair he was laying in. 

“Shit….” He turned around to look at Shatterstar. “He’s in the same hotel as us I think.” He whispered, half relieved and half horrified. This was the last place he wanted to have a confrontation with a murderous child of Wolverine. Civilians could get involved far too easily. 

Shatterstar nodded, then froze. “Something’s not right.” He muttered. “It’s too quiet. Call me crazy, but my warrior’s instinct is saying that we should have heard something outside by now. And that clerk? He gave me some weird vibes. Maybe I know nothing about hotels, but this is sort of weird.” 

Rictor nodded. “Maybe. The quietness is sort of odd, as it is afternoon and people aren’t that quiet this time of day. But the weird clerk isn’t that out of place. People like heroes on this world. I don’t know how different it was on Mojo.” 

“Heroes don’t exist. There are just slaves of the television who are forced to perform stunts for the common man to worship.” Shatterstar replied shortly. He then ran to the door, not giving Rictor time to consider what he had just said. 

Rictor heard the footsteps. He was paranoid now too. Shatterstar was not the brightest bulb, but he did have a sense of danger going for him. He wondered if he was going to see something terrifying out there or if Shatterstar was going to end up being terrified by some tourists. He walked over and looked through the peephole as Shatterstar waited behind the door, swords drawn. Rictor had a hand on the gun at his side. 

Down the hall was striding a thin man in a white suit and sunglasses. He had the mohawk, but that was it. Rictor was not about to accost a man who happened to have the same haircut as Daken in a hotel. It was an odd look to be sure, however, and he made tabs to watch where this man went, just to be safe. In fact…. 

He went to open the door. “Stay here, Shatterstar, I’ll be back.” He waited for the mohawk man to pass them, walk several steps down the hall, then he started to follow him. 

The mysterious man took a left into the hall with the elevator in it. Rictor shook his head. Looked like he was going to go up. He let his quarry enter first and then he entered after him. 

“Are you following me?” The man looked at Rictor. “I heard you leave your room. Can I help you with something?” 

_Shit!_ Rictor thought. This was not one of his more well thought out plans. He resorted to the oldest line in the book. “Can’t find the bathroom.” 

It was definitely the wrong answer. “Don’t you have one in your room?” He cocked his head, brushing a careless hand through strands of jet black hair. His sleeve fell down slightly. Rictor caught a glimpse of something on his wrist. Was it a shadow or was it a tattoo? 

“Roommate is using it. Couldn’t find one on this floor. You looked official, so I followed you.” He said, trying to sound simultaneously awkward and polite. “Pardon my rudeness, mister….?” 

“Akihiro. At your service, Julio Richter.” Daken straightened and took off his sunglasses. “And you picked the wrong damn place to corner me. “

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despair and cry out to me, I decide Rictor's fate.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Face off with Daken! Shatterstar and Rictor have to team up and take out one of one of Earth's most invulnerable! But when things don't go as planned, then what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh jeez, this chapter has been long in coming. I'm sorry it's sort of unexciting et al. I've just been so busy prepping for moving to Australia and doing my college classes and working. But I am ready to write more, now that I quit my job to prepare for the trip.

_Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit._ Rictor looked around desperately. He was essentially in a four foot by four foot by eight foot box. Daken had claws and a healing factor, and all Rictor had was a couple of guns, one with the special bullets. Yeah, it was at point blank, but the idea of firing a gun in a small area like this was not on his list of things he was real keen on doing that day. 

Daken’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent. It was as if though he could sense Rictor’s fear. Rictor desperately wracked his brain for anything he could use against Daken, but his panicked mind was only telling him one thing: to get away. He hesitantly backed his way against the elevator door, trying to keep calm. 

The elevator dinged, and at that moment, Daken lunged at him, and Rictor sidestepped him and let Daken lunge halfway through the door. As he did this, Rictor slammed his hand into the ‘close door’ button on the elevator, praying desperately that it would work, Daken careened into the door as it closed, reaching an arm and a clawed fist through. Rictor desperately hacked at it with his knife until it withdrew and the door slammed shut. 

Rictor pounded on the ground floor button with one hand while singlehandedly dialing Shatterstar with the other. He dashed down the hall, praying for his partner to pick up. 

“Hello?” Shatterstar’s voice had never sounded so welcome. 

“Shatterstar! We need to-“ 

He passed an emergency stairwell on his way to the room and was tackled to the ground, throwing the phone from his hand and knocking the wind out of him. Daken landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. 

“Listen here, sweetheart, I don’t want to kill someone as nice looking as you, but I also don’t want that moron Cable trying to force me into his death squad. So how about you quit stalking me, and I pay you twice what he’s paying?” Daken’s voice was smooth like honey, but icy cold at the same time. It was reminiscent of Domino when she was playing the role of ice queen seductress on undercover missions. Terrifying. 

“Not on my plan.” Rictor struggled to extract himself from Daken’s grip but found that Daken was much stronger than he was. 

“Then I guess this is going to be an unfortunate encounter for you-“ he raised a clawed hand, presumably to maim Rictor in some grisly way when a white and black blur burst down the hallway and threw Daken off of him. 

“I heard the conversation over the phone!” Shatterstar stood over him and offered a hand as Daken laid mildly stunned on the ground. 

“Thank goodness…” Rictor stood up. “Let’s rock and roll.” 

Daken rose to his feet, brushing off his now rumpled suit coat. “There’s two of you? Cable must be really desperate if he send two bumbling idiots like you after me.” He delicately removed the jacket and dropped it neatly on the ground, revealing a black dress shirt underneath. “Let’s dance!” 

He moved faster than Rictor imagined he would, lunging not for him, but for Shatterstar who drew his swords and charged right back. 

Rictor swore under his breath. It would be much harder to get a clear shot at Daken if Shatterstar was entangled in the midst. He tried to see a clear shot into a useful body part with which to incapacitate Daken, but every time he would try to line up a shot, Shatterstar or Daken would move, ofttimes faster than he could follow. It was then that Rictor was reminded, rather harshly, that while he was a very capable person, his mutant powers were not engineered for these sorts of situations. 

He was considering joining in the fray as he watched Shatterstar and Daken jump away from each other, both a little bit bloodied, Shatterstar more than Daken, greenish blood dripping down his face. Daken was breathing hard but still had that infuriating smirk on his face. It was as if he knew he outclassed Shatterstar and was just playing with him. 

Rictor looked between the two of them before making the split second decision to run over by Shatterstar and stand with him. “I’m with you, pal. It’s Nerf or nothing- you know what? You won’t get that reference. You have my gun though.” 

“Good. This man heals from every mark I lay on him. He’s not a normal human!” Shatterstar’s face was contorted into a snarl. 

“Don’t you listen to mission briefings? He’s Wolverine’s son! Of course he isn’t normal! He has a healing factor that’ll regenerate limbs!” Rictor looked at Daken, who was rapidly closing in on them, and made a decision for the both of them. He pulled out his non-Carbonadium gun and fired rapidly at the mutant coming for them. He hit both of his legs and one of his shoulders, the left one. 

“You think that’ll work?! You already said it! I can regenerate limbs!” Daken muscled through the bullets and kept advancing, albeit slower now. “You should’ve just listened and came with us, Daken. I hate to do this to such a nice arm sleeve.” He lined up his shot with the gun armed with the bullets to stop the healing factor and fired. 

His aim was true, and the bullet caught Daken in the meaty part of the shoulder. The force of the blow knocked him back, and Rictor could swear he heard a gasp of pain. There was blood now, all over Daken’s white pants and black shirt. He had dropped to his knees. Apparently, he had only half healed from the bullets to the legs, and now he could not stand with his healing factor being nullified. 

“Where in the hell?!” He gasped, gritting his teeth, tearing off his shirt. He let out a groan of pain as he reached into the gaping hole in his shoulder. It was a deep wound, extending well into the muscle. “Where in the hell did you get those bullets?!” He was bent over, digging into his shoulder with one claw, obviously trying to dig out the bullet. 

Rictor was not about to let this happen, however, and he walked over to Daken. 

“Do I have to knock you out, break your legs, or will you come with us if I help you up? You’re outmatched now, without your healing factor. I could have Shatterstar decapitate you right now-“ 

He was interrupted by Daken taking a swipe at his legs with his other hand. In his seeming victory, he had forgotten that Daken was still dangerous without his healing factor. He dodged, but still had a chunk of his pants leg taken out by Daken’s fury. “Shatterstar, if you’ll do me the honor of knocking him out?” Rictor mimed choking out Daken, intending for Shatterstar to just make him black out. It seemed simple and elegant. 

Shatterstar did not seem to like this idea, and much to Rictor’s horror, he took the neck thing a step further, grabbed the struggling Daken by the head and snapped his neck. The sound resounded like a whip cracking in the hallway. 

Rictor stared at him horrified. “He can’t heal from that, you moron!” He ran over to Daken’s corpse and tried to dig the bullet out, in false hope that that would reverse his death, but to no avail. Daken was definitely dead, and there was no coming back from it. 

“I only did what you did! That thing with the neck!” Shatterstar imitated Rictor’s motion of choking someone, then crossed his arms, defiantly. 

“Or maybe you just suck at following orders!” Rictor’s voice grew shrill. He was not sure how to fix this. His hands were covered in blood, they had a corpse on their hands, and they were in a hotel stairwell. 

He looked around them. There was blood everywhere. He was exhausted and high on adrenaline. He reasoned that maybe he should just take the corpse back to the hotel room and stash it there. Maybe no one would notice- no, that would not do, their fingerprints were all over him. There was no way of getting around the fact that his partner had just murdered the man they were supposed to bring back alive. He was going to get sacked for sure. 

“Help me.” RIctor said, grabbing one of Daken’s limp arms. He and Shatterstar, as quickly as possible, dragged Daken down the hallway. 

“This is too slow.” Shatterstar snapped. He crossed his swords in front of him, grabbed Rictor and tugged him and Daken’s corpse through an x-shaped void that opened in front of them. They were suddenly inside of their own hotel room again. 

“That was helpful. Why didn’t you do that before?!” Rictor’s relief was shortlived, as he heard someone scream out in the hallway. They must have found the blood. He was surprised no one had responded sooner, given the gunshots. “We need to go. Like… now.” 

“I can’t do that teleporting thing again. It drains my powers too much.” Shatterstar said in a matter of fact way. 

“You could have mentioned that earlier, or better? _Teleported us to the apartment._ ” Rictor was beyond livid. He gathered his things into his bags. “Take a picture of the body. We’ll have that to show to Cable. Maybe since we eliminated the threat, he’ll pay us half,” he joked half-heartedly. 

“Doubt it, but a man can hope, can’t he.” Shatterstar shook his head. “Through the window?” He pried it open, not bothering to unlock it, just muscling it out with his massive amount of strength. He walked back and threw Daken’s body over his shoulder. 

“Sure. Why not. Let’s go for it. Out of the frying pan of Daken and into the fire of Cable’s fury that we killed the frying pan.” Rictor shook his head, and they crawled through the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll hopefully do one or two more chapters before I start my study abroad course. The next chapter should be up before I leave for Australia, and the chapter after that should be up before the end of the month.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rictor and Shatterstar: Killers for hire? Shatterstar's just screwed up, and now they need to pick up the pieces, and now Rictor needs to learn how to feel again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope you guys enjoy this and I thank you for being so patient with me!

“So, do we want to talk about what just happened?” Rictor tried to ignore the corpse in the back of the car as it shifted as he drove on the highway. 

“Not really.” Shatterstar looked the part of a sullen, unrepentant child. This was just what Rictor needed in his life. This was exactly what he had signed up for when he had joined on as X Force’s special ops specialist. 

“Well, too bad. You jeopardized our mission. You outright killed our mark, against my orders. What do you have to say for yourself?” Rictor snapped. 

“You’re the one who insisted on going after him alone.” Shatterstar muttered. “As if you have room to talk about teamwork or anything like it.” 

“You _don’t_ get to question me, not after the shit you just pulled, Shatterstar.” Rictor made a sharp turn onto an exit. It was their exit. They were almost back. He had already called Cable and told him what was up, and Cable had just replied with a ‘come back immediately’. His lack of anger was terrifying Rictor. He would rather be screamed at than this silent treatment from his boss. 

They rode the rest of the way home in an awkward, sullen silence that filled the car and permeated the air. The smell of blood was rich as well; Rictor was sure that Daken was bleeding all in his seats and that he would have to clean out his car later, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. 

When Rictor pulled into the X Force base, he saw Cable waiting for him in the front door entrance. That was alarming. He had never actually seen his boss come outside before. 

“Uh, hey, Cable… Your arm is looking extra shiny today….” Rictor slowly got out of the Jeep, raising both hands in surrender. “Listen, this was an accident-“ 

“Save your excuses. You’re both fired.” His voice was no-nonsense, bare bones. He was angry though. You could see it in every tense muscle in his muscular form. 

“Excuse me?” Shatterstar questioned. 

_No!_ Rictor internally screamed at his moronic teammate. But Shatterstar could not hear his internal despairing and went on his blundering path. 

“Yes? You want to speak?” Cable looked at him, glinting yellow eye piercing, meeting Shatterstar’s glowing white one. 

“Daken, that clawed… nightmare…. He tried to flay us alive! He knew we were coming, he expected us! Did you honestly, in your right mind, think that this mission was going to go well, Cable?!” Shatterstar’s normally mellow speaking voice rose to something resembling a high screech. “You can’t ask us to do these crazy things with these crazy people who can heal limbs being shot out from under them, then say ‘oh, and it has to be alive and you have to drive back with them in the car to bring to me’.” He paused to breathe. 

“Are you quite finished?” Cable seemed unperturbed by Shatterstar’s outburst, maybe even a little bit amused. Maybe that was because he knew he could completely curbstomp both of them. 

Shatterstar shrugged and retreated back towards Rictor. Rictor pushed him away from him, not wanting to be affiliated with Shatterstar and the way he was acting right now. His way was an even quicker way to lose any hope of being rehired. 

“Where’s the body? I presume you two weren’t so idiotic to leave it _at_ the hotel, were you?” Cable started walking towards the Jeep. He opened the back passenger side door, and a limp, tattooed arm fell out, followed by the rest of the body, once Cable gave it a good enough pull. 

“He’s quite a specimen. He would have been a great start to the more mercenary type team I’m trying to put together. Naturally, if you had pulled this off with your _normal_ level of competency, you would have been heading that up, Rictor. But I guess I’ll have to find someone else to do it. I want you both off this base and out of my sight. You’ve disappointed me, Rictor. I thought you’d be able to actually pull off making this Shatterstar kid into something like a partner for X Force.” 

“It’s not his fault.” Shatterstar spoke up again. Rictor gaped at him. This guy just could not take a hint at when to shut up! Not to mention that no one in their right mind talked back to Cable. It was just something that you did not do if you valued your personal autonomy! 

“What?” 

“We had subdued him, Daken, I mean, and then Rictor told me to choke him out. Bad choice of words, granted, but I snapped his neck. Partly on accident, and partly, well, partly to piss him off.” Shatterstar shrugged. “Don’t fire him over this. Just fire me, so I can go back to saving my planet. I can probably do it without you guys.” 

“Doubt it,” Rictor muttered, but he was extremely grateful for this admission of guilt from his partner. Maybe now he would not lose his only job he had held for more than a year, due to his mutant status. He was a bit upset, however that Shatterstar had apparently killed Daken for no more of a reason than to upset him. 

“You two are incorrigible….” Cable rubbed the space between his eyes with a gloved hand. “Fine. Neither of you are fired. But one more fuck up like this, and then I am sending someone after both of you, I don’t care who did it.” 

“Deal. So what do we do about Butlerville?” 

“I’ll send someone down to handle it, or we will let it handle itself. Shatterstar’s the one who killed him, and he’s an alien, and not a registered person in this world. It’s an issue, but not as bad as if, say, you did it, Rictor. Were there any witnesses?” 

“Not that I know of. I heard someone find blood in the hallway and scream though. But I do not know how much they will be able to do, given that both Shatterstar and Daken’s blood was everywhere, and it is not clear if anyone died, as there is no one left at the scene, unless there were video cameras.” Rictor sighed. This was too complicated. 

“Go home. I’m going to send you some grocery money, because I feel as if I owe you a little bit for at least bringing the body back intact, somewhat. I don’t want you two starving to death. But let’s be clear that I am not paying you for the completion of this job.” Cable pulled out something that looked suspiciously like a smartphone and started jabbing at it, while gesturing for the two of them to go, which they gladly did. 

As they walked to the car, Rictor heard a ding on his phone and looked down. Cable had sent them enough money for food for the next two weeks, and a note that said that there would be a new job within that timeframe. He sighed in relief. Shatterstar had both almost lost and saved his job. His feelings about him were becoming more and more tumultuous each day, that was for sure. 

“Thanks, Shatterstar…. You didn’t have to tell him the truth like that.” Rictor said, quietly, once they were settled in the Jeep and driving back to his place. 

“What kind of partner would I be if I didn’t?” Shatterstar smiled at him. 

“Is… is that how you see us? As partners?” Rictor was silently flattered. He was impressed he was finally seen as an equal by this haughty, over aggressive warrior. 

“Yes. We have each other’s backs. You saved my life with Daken by shooting him. He would’ve killed me, I think. He was out of my league.” He grew quiet. It was not like Shatterstar to admit that anyone or anything was better than him. He really must have been shaken by his experience with Daken. Rictor could respect that. 

“I think that what we need is to go back to the apartment, set up the air mattress, and get us both a good night’s sleep.” Rictor made an executive decision. “Food can wait until we have gotten at least a little bit of sleep. I think we are both stressed and tense and exhausted at this point. This whole Daken thing has us on edge.” 

Shatterstar nodded and then spent the rest of the ride home staring out the window, eyes half closed, clearly exhausted. When they arrived, Rictor had to gently poke him awake, and it was a testament to Shatterstar’s exhaustion that he did not round on Rictor in hostility at the unprompted physical attention. 

Rictor blew up the air mattress with the little pump while Shatterstar took a shower, and as he did so, he contemplated the fact that by some miracle, his maniacal teammate now considered him an equal. How pleasant of a surprise was that? He could not deny that his feelings towards Shatterstar were gradually becoming more ambivalent, even with their conflict shortly before leaving to hunt Daken. Things were working out nicely between the two of them. Maybe they could be friends. Rictor would’ve liked that. 

Rictor was not good at holding onto friends. Not since this new gig. Being a bounty hunter and working as special operations for X Force was not something that allowed for intimacy. Having a partner could be good for him, but he knew that that would not combat the deep-seated feeling of loneliness he was suffering. 

But love was not something in his line of work. He was not going to find it with Shatterstar. He knew that for sure. He was not even sure, in the most carnal way possible, if he could make love with Shatterstar. The guy was an alien after all. But he wanted it. Someday. He knew there were alternate universes, and maybe there was one where he was not muscle for hire. Sometime he would quit. He could quit whenever he wanted to. But he did not have a reason to. Nothing had made him feel anything, he had just been empty for the past few years. But this new guy? Shatterstar? He was bringing back some strong emotions for Rictor that he was not sure he was ready for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will likely be my last chapter before I touch down in Syndey, so I hope you have enjoyed my work so far! More to come once I am settled at Macquarie Univ.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rictor and Shatterstar go.... on a date? But not really, because they're not dating. And Shatterstar watches movies!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, but I am finally settled at my new house! I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's meant to be funny, so if you laugh, don't worry, and if you don't? That's fine, I'm not the best at jokes, haha!

Shatterstar sat on Rictor’s floor, fiddling with one of his swords. Sharpening it, actually. It was making a long, slithering, scraping noise that Rictor was not sure he liked. 

_Shinnnnnnnnk_. Nope, he did not like that noise. But he also knew that telling Shatterstar to stop would only start a fight he was not in the mood to pursue at this point in his life. He just would put on some music to cover it up. This time it was Mexican hip-hop. Something from his home country. It reminded him of being young. 

_Shinnnnnnnnk_. Shatterstar drew the sharpener over the sword again, making that damned sliding noise again. He could still tell it was there. Maybe it was all in his head, but he did not care. He did not like it one bit. He counted to ten. He could not lose his temper over something so small. That would be idiotic. 

“Rictor.” The sliding stopped. Rictor looked over at Shatterstar who had stuck his sword in the floor standing straight up, as if to hold his place. He sighed. That was one safety deposit he was never going to get back. 

“Yes?” He responded patiently, as if talking to a young child, which is how he commonly felt interacting with his obstinate teammate. 

“I want to go out. My phone told me that there was a shopping center nearby, and I never have been to one just to go to one. I am, well, I am intrigued.” Shatterstar looked genuinely innocent and curious. Rictor had to remind himself that his teammate was still new to Earth, and while he was an adult, the nuances and interests most people took for granted had been denied to him. 

“That’s fine. It’ll keep you from ruining my apartment any further. Do you want to go shopping, get dinner, or see a movie or what? Just give me more details.” Rictor got up off of the couch and stowed his laptop away. 

“I’m not quite sure. I just don’t like being in here. Cable has deigned to give us a mission after a week, and I am bored. Your apartment is not very interesting; what do you even do with your free time, Rictor?” Shatterstar looked at him quizzically as he too got up. 

“Well, I sleep a lot. I work at night most of the time. When I get a job I spend a lot of time using my laptop to look up information. I don’t have a lot of time to mess around, so I don’t. And before you pry further into my life, I am single.” Rictor walked into his room to get changed, maneuvering around the air mattress in the middle of the floor. He was not sure why he had felt the need to give out that information, but it was out there now. He doubted Shatterstar cared, however. 

“Interesting. I had a wife once, but I never met her. This was back on Mojo. Her name was Windsong.” Shatterstar stood outside his door, watching him change. 

Rictor groaned. “Dude. Privacy. I know we’re housemates, and I’m probably your first approximation to a friend? But friends don’t look at other friends when they change. Or at least they don’t do it when they’re new to the friendship.” He sent a tremor through the wall, trying not to shake the whole apartment, and the door swung shut. 

“Did I do something wrong, Rictor?” Shatterstar asked through the door. He sounded despondent now. 

“I mean, sort of. You’re not really supposed to watch other people change. That’s what we call ‘inappropriate’ on Earth. I won’t beat you up for it, not yet at least, but if you do it to a woman, for instance? She might try to kill you, then proceed to send for the cops because you were creeping on her.” He responded, pulling on a loose, worn t-shirt with a faded palm tree on it as well as a pair of shorts. It was warm today, a nice change from the rain of the last three days that had kept the two indoors. 

“Alright.” There was silence for another minute. It was a blissful minute. “Have you ever been in love?” 

Now that question caught him off guard. “I mean, not really. Why would you ask something like that? Have you been watching too many romantic sitcoms on my Netflix account?” He chuckled to himself, walking out of the room. 

“I’ve watched a couple shows on Netflix. Maybe not romantic, however. I am not sure. But from them, I believe I have gained a glimpse into your culture a bit better. At least, I think I have.” Shatterstar shrugged. He was still wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. That was a step up from assless chaps, so Rictor let it slide for going out attire. 

“Like what?” He was curious what someone like Shatterstar found to be quality television. He knew from talking to him that Shatterstar’s culture back from his birth planet was obsessed with television entertainment. 

“I really liked watching comedy. Your earth has produced a masterpiece in the personage of John Mulaney. I now too shall declare, when drunk, ‘fuck the police’, whatever that means. I do not want to fuck the police. I also watched all of _Parks and Recreation_. Your ideas of television are far better than ours. The people of Mojo have much to learn from you.” 

Shatterstar sounded deadly serious, and that nearly made Rictor laugh himself to death. Between his lack of ability to pick up context cues and understand the swearing slang in the comedy sketch and his belief that those two things were what television should be just made him amused. However, he acknowledged, he would probably feel the same way if he was in Shatterstar’s shoes going to someone else’s planet and seeing brand new things. 

“Oh jeez. I don’t think that John Mulaney specials and _Parks and Recreation_ are really the pinnacle of good television, but if you say so.” Rictor chuckled. “I need to get you to watch some _Star Wars_ or something. But maybe that wouldn’t be interesting to you. You’re an alien after all, and it’s all about aliens and space.” 

“Sounds intriguing. But I want to go out now. May I drive the Jeep? I think I know how to drive now. I’ve seen it on videos.” Shatterstar looked down at him, looking as pleading as a six foot three, lean, man made of muscle could. 

“I will politely, yet firmly, say no. I would rather we not crash the Jeep today.” Rictor denied his request and started heading down the stairs to the ground floor of the apartment. “What you can do, however, is find a movie that looks good and we can go see it. The local theater is doing reruns of all sorts of movies, as sort of a retro sort of thing.” 

He handed him a flyer that someone had put in the mail a couple days past. Shatterstar flipped through it as they walked to the car. “This movie is called _the Princess Bride_. Such a womanly name, yet it seems to involve a man with a large sword. My kind of man. Is this the kind of romantic movie you spoke of earlier?” 

“They’re showing the _Princess Bride_? Sure. That is a romantic movie, I guess. I enjoyed it enough to watch it again, I guess. If that’s what you want, then sure.” Rictor shrugged noncommittally and swung himself into the car. 

When they got to the theater, Rictor bought them tickets and some overpriced popcorn to sate Shatterstar’s appetite for butter and sodium, two things that he had in common with him. They sat near the entrance of the theater, in case of an emergency with the team. 

To Shatterstar’s credit, he was quiet the whole movie. His eye glowed slightly in the dim light, but that was his only disrupting feature in the theater. Every time the words ‘as you wish’ were stated, Shatterstar gripped the seat a little more tightly, Rictor could make out his clenched knuckles in the dark by the light of the movie screen. 

When they were done, Rictor and Shatterstar left the theater. Shatterstar looked shell-shocked. “That was a fantastic film. The sword work was phenomenal. Gorgeous. And… the princess. She found her love. That was… I wish…” He grew silent and sort of gloomy for a second, but Rictor could piece together what he was saying without the words. Shatterstar was just as lonely as he was. 

“It was a good movie. One of the best romances ever written. Wesley and Buttercup.” He nodded, patting Shatterstar’s shoulder. “Would you like some dinner? I think that that popcorn made for a good appetizer, but I know a great place for some authentically good burritos near here. I know that sounds fake; we’re in Ohio, but I know some people. If you get my drift.” 

“You’re in the mob?” Shatterstar deadpanned this one. 

“God! What kind of movies and books are you watching and reading?! You definitely didn’t get _that_ out of _Parks and Rec_. No, I mean I know people who aren’t mainstream restaurant chains. I mean, I guess that the way I said it made it sound shady though.” Rictor shook his head. Shatterstar was a character, that was for sure. 

They went to a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant near the apartment that was owned by a family Rictor had connected with when he had moved out to Ohio. “There isn’t a lot of good home cooking out here,” they had told him, “so come here with your friends. We’ll treat you right.” 

He had protected them when people were trying to rob the establishment. They gave him free food, despite his protests. But he had never had had a friend to take to them. Domino and Cable were not his friends, really, just coworkers. And he had never made connections that were not work related. 

The meal was fantastic, with the entire restaurant staff wanting to hear how Rictor was doing and how he had met his new friend and if Rictor had a boyfriend and if Shatterstar was that boyfriend. 

“I’m fine, I met him at work, I’m still single, and no, he’s not.” He finally replied, after all of the chatter had subsided. They stayed for an extra hour after the meal, allowing Rictor to catch up with the first and only family to really welcome him to Ohio. They were the closest thing he had to friends outside of Shatterstar. 

Wow. Was Shatterstar really all that? A friend? Well, he had just taken the guy out for movies and Mexican food, two of his favorite things. He had found out that Shatterstar could eat an inordinate amount of beans and that he did not like tequila. That was the kind of thing that friends did, right? Maybe he had done right when he had not killed Shatterstar. Maybe something could come out of this craziness. Or maybe that was the hot sauce talking. This was all professional. He could not afford to make a friend to see them die, or worse, fall in love and get his heart broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot, so hold on:  
> \- I thought it would be super funny to put a spin on the original canon of Shatterstar learning human culture via TV, so expect some Parks and Rec and John Mulaney and Princess Bride references later in this. (I don't watch a lot of television, but I thought this would be funny)  
> \- Rictor's sub plot with his restaurant was loosely based on how my dad is a common patron for a bunch of little ethnic stores where he works where they all treat him like family. He never rescued them from a robbery though.  
> \- Some of this is obviously very loosely based on canon, but with a lot of twists because it's a modern AU written almost 30 years after the original, so please do not inbox me with how I messed up! That stresses me out!!  
> \- Things are getting spicy, and I like that.  
> \- Shatterstar is purposefully being written as confused and a bit literal. I'm basing some of these experiences loosely on myself being autistic and also not getting metaphors and shit sometimes, which is why I relate so much with him. I'm putting this here, because I have seen a lot of people get very defensive on how Star is written in fanon, so here's my reasoning behind how he is written: TLDR, I write him because I relate to him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings? Longshot, back in action? Burnt Eggs? Me coming up with better chapter names?  
> The saga of Shatterstar and Rictor continues as Rictor, two months after Daken's death is forced to start looking at ways to send Shatterstar home, as was the original deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I am so sorry for disappearing. I did not mean to do that. School has been freaking crazy for me, and I am just busy beyond human belief. But I will hopefully start publishing again! Yay! Thanks for sticking with me!

It had been two months since Shatterstar had entered his life. Now, it was just routine to see him in the morning, struggling with the coffee machine or eating bagels in the kitchen. It was a regular part of the day to watch him sparring in the backyard of the apartment complex. Shatterstar was a part of Rictor’s life; there was no getting around that. 

Rictor looked around his apartment and sighed. It was messy and a little bit too crammed in there. While it could house two people, his apartment was not meant to hold two people living there. His living room was taken over by Shatterstar, and his kitchenette was not suitable for two people who wanted more than microwave food. 

He had the money for a new apartment, a nicer one. And Shatterstar could always chip in. He would talk about that to Shatterstar later. The main issue with that, however, was Shatterstar’s status as an alien. He was not a human, and he was from another planet. Ohio could hardly handle him being Mexican, how would it react to an alien? Maybe now would be a good time to ask Longshot how he had managed to stick around the area for so long. 

“ ‘Star? Would you happen to know how to get ahold of Longshot? I need to ask him how to keep you around on Earth without getting you deported to god-knows-where.” Rictor walked out of his bedroom and into the crammed living room. 

“That would be a solid no.” Shatterstar responded. “I found him because I was lucky. Fate brought us together. I do not think I will be as lucky a second time. Longshot goes where the winds take him. He is not beholden to anything.” 

“That’s very poetic, but it’s incorrect. I think he might be working with the X Men right now. I’ll call Neena and ask. I hope she’s still not pissed about the job we did last week.” 

“I doubt it. She seems nice. Scary, but nice.” He smiled up at Rictor from the mattress where he was reclining. Damn. That smile hit him hard. Shatterstar had some of the most perfect teeth he had ever seen on a person. 

See, there he went again. Mooning over Shatterstar. He was really becoming attracted to Shatterstar. Ever since he had first seen Shatterstar in his new X Force uniform, he had admired the warrior’s svelte physique. And as he had lived with him, he had watched Shatterstar acclimate to Earth’s culture. Shatterstar seemed sweet. Sometimes. When he was not yelling alien curse words and drinking milk out of the bottle. 

“I’ll call her now.” Rictor dialed Neena’s number into his phone and waited for her to answer. It was the middle of the afternoon. She should be up and about. There were no new missions he knew about, so odds were she was just sitting in the X Force base coordinating things and gathering intel about people. 

He was right. She picked up after two rings. “Julio? What’s up?” Her authoritative voice echoed in his ear. 

“Hey, Neena. I was wondering if you knew how to get ahold of Longshot? I was thinking maybe that you had access to that sort of information… He is an X-Men and all.” 

“I do. I’ll email you his file. All you would have to do is go to the Xavier Institute, and he’s probably there, loitering.” She hung up, never one to mince words. 

Rictor pulled out his laptop. The email was there with an included file on Longshot. Apparently, Longshot was 6’1, only 90 pounds, and he was Dazzler’s husband and the father of an unknown son. “Is Longshot your dad? You called him father when we first met.” 

“Yes, he is.” Shatterstar nodded affirmatively. “Does it not say that?” He peered over Rictor’s shoulder. 

“No, it does not. Just says that he has an unknown son. I’ll have them edit the file next time I am in the area. For now…” He dialed Longshot’s number and waited for the lucky man to pick up. 

“Hello, this is Longshot. Unless I owe you money, then this is Professor Charles Xavier.” Longshot’s lighthearted, but simultaneously almost fake posh voice sounded over the phone. 

Rictor stifled a laugh at the way Longshot answered his call. “It’s Rictor. Julio Richter, yeah, me. From Pittsburgh. I saved your life, remember?” He hoped he would remember. 

“Ah, yes! You! You’re with my son now, right? We’ve heard all about you back at the X Men base. Rumor has it that the two of you did something _very_ bad a couple months ago.” Longshot laughed over the phone. The sound was borderline grating. 

“I’m not _with_ him, if that’s what you’re implying, but we are living together, for the time being. And what’s that supposed to mean, Longshot?” Rictor was defensive of his relationship with Shatterstar. He had never been in the past, but recently, he had found himself growing gradually more touchy about things. 

“Touchy, touchy…. And I think you know what I mean. You killed Wolverine’s son. Daken Akihiro. You know Logan has it out for you now, and so does Laura. They might have fought with him, but he was still their family. Don’t come around X Men territory anytime soon is what I’m trying to say.” 

“Advice taken. So. I need your advice, Longshot. How would you go about getting a new apartment if one of the tenants is not even a citizen of the US and not even a member of the larger world around him. I know you’ve been on Earth for awhile. How have you kept ICE off your tail while still living here?” 

“I live with the X Men, that’s how. No one questions that. My question for you is when will you send my errant son home to liberate our people? That’s why he came. Not to play this bounty hunter game with you. I’m sure someone we know mutually can open up dimensions for us somehow and get Shatterstar to Mojo and help. He’s not supposed to stay here with you and be your house pet. If you want someone to help you pay rent, get a girlfriend, or boyfriend, or whatever.” Longshot sounded annoyed for the first time. 

“Hey there… He’s here paying the debt he owes to me for not skewering him on the spot because you wouldn’t go back and liberate Mojo with him. You made part of this problem, Longshot, and don’t you forget it. The only person I can think of who can help is probably Doctor Strange, and he works with the Avengers. Or maybe Scarlet Witch can? I need to know something, however. When he goes back, will you go with him? Will you honor your word and help him save his people?” Rictor was starting to get a little bit pissed off with Longshot. He was not sure if he was purposefully being difficult or not. 

“You dare imply that I would betray my own son? Never. I just want what is best for him and our people. I am in a better place than I was before to help you, and if you want me to, I can come and help you find a sorcerer fit to pop you through to another dimension. A little bit of luck never hurt anybody. And as for the apartment problem? Most people don’t care that much. Just say he’s a superhero and have him do that weird eye glow thing we can do, and most people will think he’s the biggest badass ever.” Longshot chuckled a little bit over the phone. “Seriously though? Throw around the Avengers name. That ought to do the job.” 

“Wouldn’t the Avengers be pissed?” Rictor cocked his head as he watched Shatterstar make some eggs in the kitchen and subsequently start burning them. He rolled his eyes. 

“That would get their attention and maybe get you an audience with Strange.” 

“Fair, but do I want to get the attention of the biggest group of heroes out there by pissing them off?” 

“All media is good media. Or something like that. Gotta go. Emma’s yelling at me about using my phone during meetings. I’ll come down this week.” 

“Your dad is one of the most infuriating beings I have ever encountered. Have I ever told you that, ‘Star?” Rictor said as he helped Shatterstar scrape burnt egg out of the pan. 

“What- what’d you call me?” Shatterstar turned that glowing white eye on him. 

“ ‘ ‘Star’. You know, like short for Shatterstar. It’s a nickname, see? We humans give them to people that we-“ He broke off the sentence. He was not about to admit to Shatterstar that he was developing feelings for him. 

There was absolutely no way on this earth that he would confess that. The fact that Shatterstar’s smile gave him butterflies in his stomach, the fact that he loved nothing more than seeing Shatterstar happy over a bagel, those little things… Those things would remain his secret. It was not that he was ashamed of being gay. That was fine. He had gotten over that awhile ago. But acknowledging his emotions and feelings was not something he was the best about. 

“Hey…. Hey!” Shatterstar waved a hand in front of Rictor’s face. “You zoned out. You’ve been doing that a lot. You doing okay?” 

See? Shatterstar even had caring moments where he stepped outside of his awkward, detached self and worried about Rictor. Every little thing was just adding up for Rictor. 

“Yeah… I’m fine. Just thinking. Your dad gave me some ideas. They aren’t great, but they are ideas, and that’s all we have to go on for the time being. I want to wait, however, to move out. Longshot wants to visit us here, and I am not quite sure why. We don’t need him yet.” 

“I don’t mind, and I promise I will not try to kill him. What was his plan?” 

As Rictor relayed the plan and cleaned up the kitchen, his actions were fully on autopilot. All he could think about was the thought of Longshot coming down and seeing how besotted he was with Shatterstar and calling him out on it, brutally. That was a valid fear of his, in his own opinion. He knew, from the call, that Longshot did not appreciate that Rictor wanted Shatterstar to keep working with him. Longshot wanted Shatterstar to complete his mission. If Longshot knew that Rictor had a thing for Shatterstar? He could only imagine how that might go. 

The only part of him not focused on the impending doom that was Longshot’s disapproval was fantasies about Shatterstar. He could not stop thinking about him. This was a problem. Shatterstar was becoming a weakness in his life, in a life that could not afford weakness. But he did not know what to do about it. He did not know if he wanted to do anything about it, in fact. Maybe, just maybe, he was happy in his affections. After all, for all he knew, maybe Shatterstar would return them and Rictor would not feel so sad at night anymore. That would be nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to user Venus for commenting on my story chapters! I love comments! They make me very very happy!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar gets to go home with Longshot, and Rictor isn't quite sure how he feels about it. Well, scratch that, Rictor doesn't like it at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry for the slow updates! But I am here and I am queer and I am writing more fanfic.

It was about three in the morning when Longshot knocked on the door. Rictor had no idea how he had gotten onto the third floor, but he let the guy in. Longshot looked the same as always. Carefree, blonde, and annoyingly attractive. Rictor had heard a rumor that Longshot had the power to make people attracted to him. Rictor was not quite there yet, but boy, he could definitely appreciate Longshot’s classic good looks, although the sideburns were a bit much. 

Shatterstar sat up, yawning, wearing just his underwear. “Wha- what’s going on? Who’s here?” He asked, curiously. 

“Your dad. We’re getting you back to Mojo. You’re finally going to be able to save your people. Just like you wanted.” Rictor forced a smile. He desperately, selfishly wanted Shatterstar to stay; he did not want to be lonely again. He did not think he could take it. 

Longshot waved at Shatterstar who grunted a greeting and started pulling on clothing and pulling a comb through his shoulder-length hair he had recently gotten cut. 

“So, we want to get ahold of the Avengers. You don’t just ring up Doctor Steven Strange on the phone, however. So, I got my good friend Scott Summers to do it for me!” Longshot laughed and slapped Rictor on the back. 

“You did _what_?” Rictor yelped. 

“I just had him ring up Strange, and you know what he said? _NO_!” Longshot grinned. “So, we went to the next best person. Scarlet Witch. And you know what she said?” He grasped onto Rictor’s hands, which Rictor did not really appreciate, but he did not stop him. “Maybe!” 

“Get to the point already, Longshot.” Rictor broke free from his excited grasp. For a guy with only three fingers and a thumb, he could sure hold on tight. 

“What I’m saying is that maybe we can get Scarlet Witch to send us back to our home dimension, Shatterstar and I. We can liberate our dimension from Mojo, go back to the way things were before our planet was dominated by entertainment obsessed psychopaths!” He raised his hands in victory. “And you could go back to living your life without the bother of taking care of Shatterstar. I know you only did this to spare killing him, which I greatly appreciate.” 

Rictor nodded awkwardly. This made him feel so messed up inside. Shatterstar had been in his life for months now. He did not like change, and this change would leave him feeling lost and alone again. Was he really ready for that feeling all over again? Was he ready to feel that emptiness that he had felt, that routine of completing missions and then coming home and sleeping it off then doing it again? 

“I want to come with you. To Mojo.” He blurted out. 

Shatterstar exchanged a nervous look between him and Longshot. “You want to do what?” 

“I want to come with you. Help you liberate your people. It’s not like you haven’t helped me out enough already. You’ve saved my life! The least I could do is help you with your mission.” He was stalling. He knew he was stalling. But he had to. He had to keep him close. He could not lose Shatterstar. He could not lose someone he was growing to love. 

“Rictor…. You can’t. This isn’t your mission. You have a life here. This could take years. I might not survive this. You’ve gotta stay here, man. Longshot, back me up on this…” Shatterstar gestured at the blonde man who nodded solemnly. 

“I know you two have grown close as friends. But you can’t stick to each other like glue. Shatterstar needs to go home. Earth is not a place for him. At least not now. Maybe some other time he can come back, when we have saved what we need to.” Longshot clasped him on the shoulder. “We appreciate your offer.” 

Shatterstar shot him a baleful look, and it occurred to Rictor that he might not be the only one upset about being separated, and that hurt him a little bit more. 

The next couple days were spent apartment searching until Rictor found a nicer apartment a few miles closer to the X Force base. He got in touch with the landlady who, true to the prediction Longshot had made, was susceptible to the claim that they were Avengers. Rictor showing off his earthquake powers and Shatterstar flaunting his super strength helped a bit. 

As they were settling up finances and moving in, with Longshot’s help, Longshot got a phone call. “Give me a sec, guys. I’ve got to take this. It’s from Scott.” 

He walked away as Shatterstar unloaded more boxes from the hallway into the small entry way of the new apartment. It was a much more spacious, two bedroom, one and a half bathroom apartment. It had a full kitchen and an actual living area. It was much nicer than the tiny place Rictor had been formerly holed up in. 

Rictor looked at his teammate and sighed wistfully. Lately, he had been indulging in more wishful thinking regarding Shatterstar. The idea of those muscled arms gently pushing him against a wall to be leaned in for an embrace was his new ideal of a heavenly kind of touch. He knew this was all crazy thoughts, but he couldn’t resist. It was all he wanted. It was consuming him. 

“You alright, Rictor?” Shatterstar looked over at him. “I’m sorry you can’t come with me, but being sad won’t make things better. I’ll try to come back.” He smiled, seemingly trying to be reassuring. It helped, a little bit. 

“Shatterstar, I’m gonna level with you. I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want to be without a partner again. These past two months have been amazing. I didn’t think I would want to work with someone again, but you’ve changed me. Being around you has just been… eye opening. I don’t…..” His chest heaved, his throat was tight. “I don’t want to be alone again!” He said, both mournfully and upset. 

Shatterstar backed away from him, awkwardly. “Wow… that was. A lot. To quote Netflix comedian John Mulaney, ‘we don’t have time to unpack all of that’.” He chuckled nervously. “I’m sorry you’re lonely, Rictor, and I am happy I was able to make you feel better for awhile, but you knew I wasn’t going to stick around for forever, didn’t you?” He asked, gently. 

“Please, Shatterstar, let me go with you. I can’t do this. I was alone for so long, and then you came, and gave me a friend! I don’t want to lose my only friend.” 

Shatterstar sighed. “Ric… You’re putting a lot on me, and you shouldn’t. You knew I was leaving, and yet you made me out as your new best friend. That’s not fair to either of us, and you know it. I can’t do this. Not now. I need to go home.” He walked off, presumably to find Longshot, leaving Rictor with the rest of the boxes and a deep well of sadness. 

_Damnit! I fucked this all up_! Rictor thought angrily, kicking at the wall as he picked up a few boxes and moved them into the apartment. He was fighting back tears at this point. His heart was breaking, and Shatterstar now wanted nothing more than to leave. He had truly messed things up, and now he did not think things would ever be right between the two of them again. 

He finished putting the boxes in his apartment while Longshot and Shatterstar were still in the hallway talking on the phone. Rictor proceeded to go into his room, lock the door, flop down on his bed and cry bitterly. Shatterstar was leaving with Longshot. He might not ever come back. If he and Longshot died over there, Rictor would never know. 

“Hey, HEY!” 

Rictor jolted upwards to see someone standing over him. They were attired in green and gold and black and had bitter, cold eyes like ice chips in a pale face. Dark hair tumbled down their shoulders and lined a thin face. A golden helmet with two horns on it adorned their head. A scepter of gold with a blue stone inside was in his hand. 

“No way…” Rictor scrambled backwards, lunging for a gun that was not there. “Loki? What are you doing here?!” He was full on panicking. How did Loki get here? Why was he here? He knew he had no chances of winning a fight against him, so he just backed himself against the wall. 

“Oh hush, mortal. I’m here to help you!” He ran a hand across Rictor’s face and slunk across the room, cape flowing behind him like a gown. 

“Help me? How?” Rictor was nearly shitting himself at this point. How had a legendary Norse god end up in his bedroom? 

“Are you familiar with my powers, Julio Richter?” He asked, voice smooth and cool. “I can teleport people across dimensions. I’m a god. My powers are bordering on limitless.” 

“Why are you telling me this?” Rictor asked, unpeeling himself from the wall. He started circling Loki, slowly and cautiously. 

“I can get you what you want, Rictor! The ability to be with your lover, Shatterstar! You are his lover, are you not?” He smiled thinly. “I can travel you across time and space to the dimension of Mojo.” 

“What’s your price? I know who you are, Loki Laufeyson. You do nothing for free. What boon do you require?” Rictor’s fear was starting to be replaced by skepticism. 

“Nothing! I just want to see what will happen! This is the great romance of the X Men! Forget Scott Summers, Logan, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, and whoever else is in that orgy, I care about you! You and Shatterstar!” He laughed haughtily. 

Rictor nodded. “Reveal yourself to the others and I might trust you.” He did not entirely mean this. He just did not want to be alone with Loki anymore. 

“It’s a deal. Then I will send you to Mojo. But that’s a one way trip. I hope you know this. Be careful what you wish for.” He held out his hand to seal the deal with Rictor. 

Rictor hesitated, then clasped Loki’s hand tightly. “I’ll do anything. Anything for Shatterstar. Anything to help him with his mission. Anything to keep him safe.” 

“Good.” Loki’s eyes gleamed with an impish glee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I look forward to taking them to Mojo! I'm gonna have to do my research on it or do something like that. Leave a comment if you want me to detail Mojo or if you want me to do a time skip or want me to do something else.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar, Rictor, and..... ??? Go to Mojo! Kick some ass, maybe, break some hearts, and maybe even a confession of love, and of course, a daily dose of pain and angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, I know I just updated but this was really good, and I got sort of excited.

Just as he released Loki’s hand, there was a knock on the door. Loki looked down at Rictor. “You ready to explain yourself and the situation?” 

“Wait, what? No, wait!” Loki ignored him and opened the door, to a shocked Shatterstar and Longshot. “What the _hell_ is he doing here?” Longshot demanded. “What do you want, Loki? None of us are in positions of great power to help you at the moment with whatever terrible-“ 

“Oh hush, you.” Loki snapped his fingers and Longshot fell silent. He started to gesture indignantly. “Don’t worry,” he looked dismissively at Rictor and Shatterstar’s horrified gazes. “He’ll be able to talk again in an hour.” He yawned and threw an arm around Shatterstar’s muscular shoulders. “Anyhow, I heard you guys want to go to Mojoworld? Well, this is your lucky day. Your local god of magic and mischief wants to be kind, and thought that maybe this could suffice!” He laughed loudly. “Shall we?” 

“Wait, what?” Shatterstar asked. He was ignored. Rictor started to get worried now. This was getting out of control now. 

Loki took Shatterstar and Rictor’s hands and winked at Longshot, whose eyes widened in horror. “Don’t go without me!” He mouthed. Loki ignored him too. “I thought it would be fun to send these two on a little adventure to Mojo! They don’t need a dad chaperoning.” He snapped his finger then dragged the two of them through a portal. 

“Wait, what? What’s going on?! Longshot, no!!” Shatterstar tried to struggle and get to Longshot, but he was no match for Loki who gleefully tossed them into the void. “Have fun! And have more fun coming home!” 

The journey through dimensions and time was rather harrowing, but they reached the Mojoverse within seconds, dropping from the sky into piles of sand. It was deafeningly loud around them, as if they had fallen into a football stadium. Rictor got to his feet first, as Shatterstar had landed stomach first, possibly injuring himself. 

“Um, ‘Star? Where are we?” He asked, his voice uncertain amidst the yelling around them. As he waited for Shatterstar to stand, he took a look around him. It did appear they were in an arena. People were screaming at them from the stands, and there were screens all around, displaying both the arena grounds and the people in the stands. 

“Shit. SHIT!” Shatterstar stood up uncertainly. He looked accusatorily at Rictor. “What in the fresh fuck are you doing here, and where is Longshot?!” His voice was angrier than Rictor had ever heard. Rictor resisted the urge to flinch away. 

“Okay, so I might have made a deal with Loki to get you to Mojo. And here’s the catch, I’m here. I’m not sure why Loki saw fit to not bring Longshot.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I fucked this up. I messed up a lot.” 

“Well I’ll say! I don’t even have my swords. I’m completely unarmed, and from the looks of it, we are in the main arena of Mojo, where I had most of my fights when I was here as a gladiator.” Shatterstar looked around. 

Rictor watched his partner’s nervous gaze sweep the arena. While he was unfamiliar with this as a whole, he knew what Shatterstar was doing. He was looking for an exit, for an out. He was probably also looking for a weapon. He needed something to defend the two of them. 

Suddenly, a booming, cackling voice filled the arena. “ _WELL WELL WELL, ISN’T THIS A SURPRISE!!!_ ” 

Shatterstar whipped around, standing back to back with Rictor. “No… NO…” He shuddered a bit. “I know that voice. Stay close to me, Rictor, we are in danger.” 

“What? What’s going on, Shatterstar!” Rictor was on the verge on panic, the gravity of the situation dawning on him, and the realization that he had majorly messed up had just dawned on him for real. 

“It’s Mojo. The supreme leader of this planet. A spineless creature of pure evil. He has enslaved the planet and forces beings such as myself to fight for the pleasure of viewers and for entertainment.” Shatterstar’s teeth were gritted. 

“That sounds lovely-“ Rictor was interrupted by the voice of Mojo breaking through the ruckus of the crowd. 

“ _MY PERSONAL FAVORITE, MY STAR WHO RAN TO ANOTHER WORLD, HAS RETURNED TO US! BEHOLD, MOJO, SHATTERSTAR!_ ” The lights of the arena shown down on Shatterstar and he flinched against the bright lights, hands clenching at swords he did not possess. He looked totally disarmed and somewhat terrified. Rictor felt guilty. This was all his fault. They should have had more prep time. Longshot should have been with them. 

Shatterstar gazed up at the screens. Rictor did too. He could see Shatterstar’s tan face on all the screens. The glowing eye shown on all the televisions floating above them. He watched as Shatterstar’s brow furrowed and he shouted. 

“I will not be a slave for you again Mojo! Never again!” His voice rang out in the small area. Rictor doubted that anyone could hear, yet Mojo reacted. 

“ _NEVER AGAIN? THAT’S RICH, BOY. YOU’VE ALWAYS BELONGED TO ME, PROPERTY OF THE PLANET MOJO!_ ” He laughed cruelly, causing Rictor to tremble a little bit as the magnified voice blew across the crowds and the emptiness of the arena. 

“Come and fight me then, send your worst.” Shatterstar snarled. “Give me weapons, and I will fight, not just for myself, but for the freedom of my fellow gladiators and fellow people you have enslaved here on this planet! This world needs to know that _you can be stopped!_ ” He seemed to be getting a second wind, his normal pride and confidence returning. His passion was thrown to the stars, and he was going to show the world how much he cared about the people he had come to save. 

“As fun as that sounds, I would rather we play a much more amusing game, oh Shatterstar.” A door behind the two of them opened, and Rictor jumped at the noise. A whole myriad of warriors walked out, all armed to the teeth. 

“This should be good….” Rictor muttered, starting to backtrack rapidly. He was ill prepared for this, as all he had were his powers. Not as if though having his standard array of weapons would save him now from extraterrestrial alien gladiators anyhow. 

“Either you kill the man with you, or your two take on the hoard with just your bare hands and whatever powers you can conjure up. Either way, I get some good entertainment, and maybe even some heartbreak. I can tell he means a lot to you, which is why your stakes are so high. Make it through this, and I might consider letting some people go. Fail? And you both become my newest entertainment. Although, I’m not quite sure exactly what he even does.” Another laugh boomed through the arena, this time at the expense of Rictor. 

Shatterstar looked at Rictor. “I’m so sorry.” He pushed him behind him. “But I need to take care of this myself!” He lunged at the first contender, wrestling a sword off of him and flinging him into the small crowd. He held the blade in front of him and Rictor. “If any of you touch Rictor, you get fucked!” 

“ ’Star, I’ve never heard you say that word…” Rictor muttered, surprised at Shatterstar’s grasp on profanity. Shattgerstar ignored him and started swinging, cutting a bloody swath through the enemies. He started out strong, but within ten minutes, it was obvious that the effort of fighting off dozens of people with one sword was wearing on Shatterstar. He looked winded, green blood was dripping down the side of his face. He made eye contact with Rictor who was awkwardly standing at a distance, terrified to interfere with Shatterstar’s quest, both out of a fear for incurring Shatterstar’s wrath for interfering, and also out of a fear of his powers doing more harm than help in this scenario. 

Suddenly, he saw Shatterstra trip, maybe in his own blood, maybe in someone else’s. Nonetheless, he went down. He fell flat on his back, and before he could get up or even react, a sword was shoved violently into his stomach, pinning him like a bug to the ground. Rictor watched in horror. He felt his stomach in knots. This was… his fault. All his fault for not interfering, for insisting he come along. 

He watched in rapt horror as the screens around them lit up, showing closeups of Shatterstar’s downed body as he struggled to get the blade out to allow his healing factor to work its magic and as he was repeatedly pushed back. It was too much, too much for Rictor to watch. 

“Stop!” Rictor fell to his knees. The lights were on him now. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I didn’t fight alongside him. I’m sorry I didn’t listen! I’m sorry Longshot isn’t here! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m SORRY!” Tears were running down his cheeks as he watched this proceedings in horror. 

“Go on, mutant.” Mojo’s voice was much quieter now, moving over the hushed field. Everyone wanted to know what the new entertainment would be, what this new drama was. 

“My name is Julio Richter. I’m a mutant bounty hunter back on Earth. I wanted to come help Shatterstar liberate his planet from you people, but I-“ He chanced a glance over at the prone Shatterstar who was currently coughing up green blood and struggling feebly on the ground, still pinned down. “I came for the wrong reasons. I didn’t know what was going on here, although now that I see it, I agree it needs to be destroyed, but I came because… Because I love Shatterstar! He’s my friend and partner, but what matters more is that I would do anything for him. It wasn’t always like this, but now… Now it is. I’ll do anything. Just don’t let him die!” 

“You hear that, Gaveedra Seven? I think the mutant likes you!” Mojo laughed as he called Shatterstar the unfamiliar name. Rictor had heard him mutter it in his sleep, but had now put in place as what must have been the slave name Shatterstar had gone by. “I’ll make you a deal, Julio Richter. You give me some of your genetic information to make more entertainment from, and I will make sure your friend lives. If you do not agree to my terms and conditions, then you will both perish.” 

“You don’t know that.” Rictor bluffed. “What if I could fight all along and I just did not want to dishonor Shatterstar’s wishes!” Shut up! His brain screamed at him. 

“Darling, if you could have, you would have. Now, do you agree, or do we get to stick Gaveedra over here like a pincushion?!” He laughed evilly and gleefully. It was a terrifying combination. Rictor shuddered. This was what evil looked like, and the idea of acquiescing to it to give him his genetic material to make more slaves was repulsive. But he couldn’t let Shatterstar die! 

“I’m so sorry, ‘Star.” Those were the last words he said before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUCKAHS! HAVE FUN WAITING TIL I UPDATE AGAIN.
> 
> PS I'm very sorry for what I'm putting Shatterstar through lmao


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar and Rictor, partners in crime, apartment buddies, and... prisoners of war?  
> Their adventure to Mojo has gone desperately wrong, and Rictor is desperate to fix it, but can he?
> 
> In other worlds, can Longshot reunite with his ex wife?  
> Keep reading to find out!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long (for me) and sad and mildly violent chapter. Be warned.

The next thing he knew, he woke up with someone taking swabs of his arm and sticking a needle rapidly in and out of his arm before injecting the contents into a container. They whisked away before Rictor could get a good look at them, leaving Rictor to ponder his fate.

He was pinned down on what looked like a hospital bed. There were cuffs around his wrists and ankles. There was also a band around his forehead. All of his clothing was off except for his underwear. He shuddered in the cold. Looking down, he could see a couple gel pads attached to his chest and hooked up to a few machines, as well as an IV drip in his arm. He could still hear the faint roar of the arena in the distance. He looked up at the ceiling. There was a singular screen inlaid in it. There were two four armed aliens duking it out on the sands of the arena.

 _The arena!_ It all came rushing back to him. Where was Shatterstar?! Where was he?! He started to panic, breathing heavily. The machines all started to beep loudly, and a technician of sorts came in in a lab coat and glared down at him, accompanied by something truly gross. An amorphous blob on a robotic contraption came scuttling in, laughing evilly. The laugh was familiar to the one he had heard before. This must be Mojo, the creature that Shatterstar had feared from his past.

“Where. Is. SHATTERSTAR?!” Rictor tugged at his restraints. “I demand to know where you are keeping him!”

Mojo nodded, or some approximation of it, and a six-armed woman walked out from behind a curtain, dragging Shatterstar’s bloodied body.

“Shatterstar!” He gasped, looking in horror at the battered body of his comrade. The stab wound was gushing brilliantly green blood, and Shatterstar’s eyes were half open and glazed over. He was still wearing the same t shirt he had came to Mojo in, a now tattered black garment with silver moon designs on it. It was a stark reminder of the home they had left behind in this fool’s errand.

Shatterstar’s eyes widened at the sound of Rictor’s voice and he looked around, barely turning his head, before slumping limply into all six of his captor’s arms.

“Before you ask, Shatterstar will not be dying today. I’m just here to, ah, facilitate his delivery to this room. You two’s genetic material will be used for our experiments here on the Mojoworld. Your DNA is powerful, Rictor. You have the power to manipulate the earth itself. Beautiful. And our lovely Gaveedra Seven over here is our perfect fighting machine! You’ll be a hit!”

Rictor’s eyes widened in horror. This was not happening. It could not be happening. He watched as Shatterstar was similarly strapped down to him and restrained. The idea of being trapped on this planet as the entertainment and slaves of this monster was abhorrent. He clenched his fists and tried to think about some way to get out. But he remembered what Loki had said, but he had not taken much thought to. This was a one-way trip. There was no way of getting home. They were trapped, and it was his fault. Shatterstar was going to die the next time he went out there to fight for sure. He did not even care about himself at this point.

“Send him home.” He said quietly. “Please. He’s going to die.” His voice broke. “I know he has a healing factor, but it’s not that great, and he’s been stabbed in the vital organs without any opportunity for him to heal. I’ll do anything, but please, let Shatterstar go home.”

“Not a chance in hell.” Mojo laughed cruelly. He gestured to the lab tech standing next to him who took what looked like a cattle prod and experimentally poked Shatterstar in the side, causing him to spasm and make choked, agonized noises. Blood spat from his mouth as he gasped for air.

“Stop it! What are you doing?!!” Rictor struggled even more. “You can’t just torture him! If you want him to fight, at least heal him!” His voice started to become high pitched and angry, well, angrier.

“He has a point, Mojo, Gaveedra Seven would bring in much more patronage to the arenas if he was in fit fighting shape.” The six-armed woman poked Shatterstar’s face, watching it lull to the side.

Mojo seemed to ponder on this for a couple seconds before deciding. “Then heal him. Let him recover. Rictor, on the other hand? Let him fight. I would love to see him make the arena SHAKE! Spiral! Unchain him! I want him fighting!”

Rictor panicked. This was not good. But he could do nothing about it as the six-armed woman, apparently named Spiral, undid his bonds and dragged him out of the room.

_Flash Forward a Few Days…._

Rictor sat in his cell, alone. He could hear the roar of the arena above him. It was a dull roar today, but it was a dull roar he was getting used to. He had killed people for a living for the past couple years, and he had gotten pretty used to it. But it had always been from a distance. Guns were his artistry. He could not think of the last time he had had to use his birth powers to kill a man. Not until the past few days.

The past few days had seen him make the earth quake, shake, and crack. He had dropped people through fissures, made them fall to their knees then beheaded them, and all other manner of murder. That was what it was to him. It was murder, for sport. These people did not need to die. They had never done anything to him. He was not even being paid to do it. He was killing just to kill them. Well, that was not entirely true, he reflected as he recalled the conversation he had had with Spiral before his first fight.

_“You have to kill your opponent.” She had said, her voice icy cold as she had put body armor on him and handed him a rather heavy sword._

_“What? I’m not killing anybody for Mojo. You’re insane.” He experimentally swung the blade. This would be a trial for sure._

_“That’s what the crowds want. They want bloodshed. They want death. They wanted Shatterstar dead, and you’re lucky he’s not. Make Mojo happy and-“ she broke off her statement and walked away, leaving him in a ridiculous half_ Game of Thrones _half_ WWE __costume._ _

He was doing this for Shatterstar. He had to. He needed to make up for the wrongs he had committed. He examined the cuffs around his wrists. Very practical. He assumed they were to dampen his powers. That was at least the vibe he had gotten when the technician had clamped them on and snidely challenged him to ‘try and make earthquakes now’ after he had nearly taken the whole building he had been imprisoned in down.

The door opened, startling Rictor out of his reverie. Spiral walked in, but she was not alone. Shatterstar accompanied her. He too was dressed for combat in an all-white garment with a rather ugly headpiece and a shoulder piece on his left shoulder. He had two double bladed swords. He looked the warrior that Rictor had first met on their first meeting, and it was very intimidating.

Rictor looked up at him. “Hey, ‘Star.” He said, ignoring Spiral, who did the same, shoving Shatterstar into the cell and informing them that their turn to fight would be soon, before walking away. Rictor did not reflect on that too much, hoping that she meant that they would fight in turn and not each other.

Shatterstar gave him a sad look. “I’m saying ‘sorry’ in advance. Because I’m going to either kill you or take us home, but I don’t know if I can do the second.” He took a deep breath. “They’re throwing a party up there right now. It’s about to be a big battle royale. What I’m going to try to do is send you back to the old apartment. I can picture it in my head now, and if I didn’t have these stupid power dampening cuffs on, I’d just do it now. But when we fight, the plan, for now, is for me to throw you into the portal my blades make and for me to tell Mojo I tossed you into the void and killed you.”

“I see nothing wrong with this, or at least anything I can criticize, so go on.” Rictor was listening closely. This seemed like an okay plan, except for…

“I’ll stay here and finish the battle royale. I’ll _hopefully_ be able to gain Mojo’s favor by winning it and get close to him and kill him.” He ended the statement in a low whisper. “If I kill him, I will save my people. This planet will be free again to exist as a free, non-enslaved entity.”

Rictor shook his head. “You’re going to stay. You’re going to stay to kill Mojo? What if you fuck it up? What if you fail? Shatterstar… What if you die?!”

“That’s a risk I am willing to take to finish my mission. You never seemed to understand, Ric. It was all leading to this. This was the endgame, me taking down Mojo and saving my people. I wanted Longshot by my side, but I can do it alone. But I need to get you home. You have no place here.”

“Please don’t make me leave, ‘Star! I can help you!” Rictor pled with him, “I only ever wanted to help!”

“Liar. You did not want to be alone. You said it yourself. You only came so you could try to share my adventure and not be left alone and be stuck on Earth. Well, you got your wish, and you almost got us both killed. You’re so damned selfish, Julio. Because of your actions, I’m back to doing the thing I hated most in the world, and I am once more enslaved. Did you ever think about how stupid it would be to make a deal with Loki?” Shatterstar was angry. That much was clear. Rictor had never seen him so furious.

“I’m sorry! Okay! I’m sorry! I want to make things right, I really do! Let me-“

“You’re leaving the easy way, or I kill you to prove a point to Mojo. And believe me, you don’t want me to kill you, Rictor. I don’t want to kill you either. But you’ve messed up, and there isn’t really a coming back from that.”

Rictor was about to retort when the door to the cell opened again and Spiral walked in. “It’s time, boys.” She undid the cuffs around their wrists and led them to the main floor of the arena. They were met with much screaming and shouting. People were making quite the ruckus in the stands, and it was all stressing Rictor out. Shatterstar took a deep breath next to him, and that reassured Rictor that Shatterstar seemed a little bit on edge as well.

 _“CITIZENS OF MOJOWORLD! I HAVE GATHERED YOU ALL HERE TO WITNESS THE FIGHT OF THE CENTURY! THE MAN WHO CAN MOVE STONE VERSUS THE GREATEST GLADIATOR IN HISTORY! I GIVE YOU, SHATTERSTAR VERSUS RICTOR!”_ Mojo’s voice boomed over the stadium, and a gong rang. It was time to fight.

Shatterstar lunged at Rictor who desperately swung his sword up to parry Shatterstar’s lightning fast blades. The only thing saving him was the fact that he had seen Shatterstar spar for the past couple months, and he knew the man’s rhythms fairly well.

“Good, good. Now, on the count of three, just lunge at me.” Shatterstar whispered as they entered into a bladelock for a couple seconds then jumped apart, too quiet for anyone else to pick up, and even if they had, who would care, as long as it was a good fight? WWE was rigged, so why not gladiator fights, right?

Rictor shut his eyes, counted to three, then lunged at Shatterstar, sword swinging up in front of him. Suddenly, blazing light shown in front of his face, and he found himself instantaneously on the floor of his old apartment. The old bed was there and everything. Shatterstar had found a way to land him on the mattress of the pre furnished old apartment.

He stripped off his filthy clothing and sat there in just his underwear, sweating. It was nighttime. The moon was high in the sky. Without a second thought, he tossed all of the gladiator garb out the window, then proceeded to sneak down the stairs in nothing but his boxers. When he got outside, he rounded to the back of the apartment complex where Shatterstar used to spar and sat down under one of the trees and sobbed. Shatterstar was… gone. He had forcefully sent Rictor back to Earth. There was a very high chance too that he was not coming back either.

He sighed, as he managed to get ahold of himself. He needed to get back to the new apartment and get ahold of Longshot and more importantly, Cable. Cable might have an answer, he was a time traveler after all, maybe dimensions were something Cable could navigate too.

But how? He did not have his phone or his wallet. Those were long gone, broken or lost upon arrival to Mojoworld. He groaned. He was going to have to borrow someone’s phone and call for help. Just add insult to injury.

He sat outside under the tree all night, dozing off, then waking up sporadically as birds chirped around him and the sun rose. When he deemed it to be an appropriate time, he walked back to the apartment complex and typed in the numbers to summon the landlady who lived in the same apartment.

“Julio? Is that you?” She asked, through the intercom. There was a camera, so that whoever was being summoned could see outside if they were in the lobby.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ve been…” he pondered for what to say to explain his strange state. “Hijacked. Hijacked and stranded, and I need to borrow a phone to call for a ride to my new apartment.”

She sighed. “Come on in, kiddo.” The door buzzed and he walked inside, shivering in the air conditioned air. The older woman put a gruff arm around him.

“You look like garbage Julio. Is your boss treating you right? Did you get into a fight with that lovely young man living with you?” She asked all this as they went up in the elevator.

“I see you got the elevator fixed. Of course you did it after I left.” He joked, ignoring the questions. He wished he had known that last night.

She handed him her cell phone once they got to her personal apartment. She let them both in, walked to an unseen room, and came out and brusquely handed Rictor some clothing. “These are my son’s. But you look like you could use some pants and a shirt right now, and he’s in college, so he won’t care.”

“Thanks, ma’am.” Rictor responded politely, dialing Longshot’s number. It was a good thing he had it memorized. He had questioned Longshot’s insistence upon him memorizing it, but now, in hindsight, it was the most useful thing in the world.

 _Pick up, pick up, pick up!_ He thought anxiously as the phone rang and rang, and just as he was about to give up, Longshot’s overly chipper voice came over the speaker, only it was not very chipper at all.

“Longshot speaking, and who is this?” He sounded glum, despondent, and a little bit pissed off. Not a good sign at all.

“It’s me! Rictor!” Rictor responded, relieved, yet concerned.

“Oh. It’s you. Well. Fuck you. You killed my son.” His voice was harsh and unforgiving. This was somehow worse than talking to Shatterstar.

“I- I’m sorry, I didn’t…. He isn’t…. I- I need a ride home.” He blurted out finally after stammering for a little bit.

“Find a new ride, asshole. You’d better pray you never see me again, or I _will_ kill you- ah, Alison, just doing business over the phone- just go and fuck off, why don’t you?”

“Longshot, please.” He begged. He could not bear to lose the only link he had left to Shatterstar. Not like this. Not in this kind of anger. “I can explain everything. Just give me a ride, then you can kill me some other time.” He hesitated. “It’s what Shatterstar would have wanted. He would not want us to kill each other.”

“Don’t you _DARE_ use his name in your argument. I will pick you up and take you home. But after that? Nothing. You will not hear from me again, or if you do, it will be because Alison was unable to stop me from coming and wreaking havoc on your sorry ass.”

Alison? He got back with his ex-wife while we were gone? How long were we away? Or was he just desperate enough to go back? He thought curiously.

“Thank you. I’m sorry again. Good bye, Longshot. I’ll see you soon.” The phone clicked off. He sighed. “My ride will be coming soon. Thank you again for your kindness and for not suing me or whatever landlords do when their clients’ guests stab the hardwood floor.”

“It was no problem. You always were a nice young man, Rictor. I hope everything works out.” She waved him out the door, with him wearing an Ohio State University shirt and a pair of grubby sweatpants. He looked sort of gross, but he did not care.

He sat outside the apartment waiting for his ride. He stared up at the sky. “I’m sorry, Shatterstar.” He whispered to no one. “I’m so so sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Rictor!!! What's he gonna do now that Longshot is mad at him and Shatterstar is far far away!?


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rictor is alone now, all alone, until an evening visit interrupts his sad, memorial viewing of Parks and Rec.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again!

_One year later…_

The microwave beeped. Rictor waited a minute to get it, wrapped in a blanket on one of the living room chairs. He got up a little too abruptly and stubbed his toe rather wrathfully on a box on the floor.

“Damnit! Stupid, fucking box! Why, I’ve got half a mind to-“ he paused and sighed mid-tirade. He looked down at the cardboard box. It was labelled in messy handwriting ‘Shatterstar’s things’. That’s why it was still on the floor. He had not had the heart to remove any of Shatterstar’s things after his return to Earth. He had just left them exactly where Star had left them in the apartment. Maybe it was just childish hope that maybe these things could anchor Shatterstar back home.

He walked over to the microwave and removed the ham and cheese Hot Pockets out of the appliance and sat down at the little table in the kitchen and bit into one, swearing loudly when it was too hot. This was miserable. Absolutely miserable. He looked down at his phone and checked the date. It had been a year exactly today that Shatterstar had tossed him through time and space to get him home. It had been a year since he had ended up stranded in his old apartment and had to employ the graces of a very angry Longshot to get him home.

It had been a long year. He had done a couple half-assed jobs for Cable, but after his last screw up in a line of rookie mistakes, Cable told him to take some time for himself and come back whenever he had his personal issues taken care of. A more than generous offer given that Rictor had failed them miserably. He had retired from the public scene. He lived off of the excess money the past several years of mercenary work had brought in. He stayed in his apartment most of the time, leaving only to buy groceries and occasionally go to the movies. If Shatterstar came back, if he chose to come to Rictor, he would have wanted Rictor to stay up to date with the media.

Of course, if Shatterstar came back, Rictor was not sure what he would do. He had left Shatterstar with Shatterstar being angry at him, with some of his choice words calling Rictor ‘selfish’ and deriding his decision making skills. He was right of course, but it still hurt. He had not heard from Longshot, which was a relief, but he reckoned that was more because his wife, the mutant superstar known as Dazzler, was a touring superstar and he was sticking close to her. To be safe, nonetheless, when Dazzler’s brilliant tour bus came to the small town X Force and Rictor’s apartment was located in, he vacated the place for the night’s show. He did not want Longshot knifing him in his sleep.

He finished his hot pocket then walked back over to the couch and sat back down. He looked down at himself and groaned. He was miserably out of shape; he had gained something like twenty pounds, and it had all gone to his thighs and gut. Not only that, he had not shaved in a few days, and his hair was getting long again like it had been when he was a teenager. He was a mess. He turned on Netflix, reminding himself he needed to put more money in his checking account to pay his bills from his dwindling resources from back when he was somewhat gainfully employed.

Just as he was starting to doze off from an evening of cheap beer and _Parks and Recreation_ , he smelled gunpowder. _Gunpowder_. He had only smelled this smell two other times without context. Both of those times had signaled Shatterstar’s imminent arrival! His heart started pounding in his chest as he stood upright, swaying a little from the alcohol in his system.  

“I’m here!” He screamed. Maybe Shatterstar could hear him cross dimension- no that was stupid.

Just as he was starting to lose hope and think that maybe the smell had been a figment of his imagination, there was a loud crash in his bedroom. It sounded like someone fell on top of his bed, rolled off of it, then fell on the floor while simultaneously breaking his bedside table.

“What the shit?” He muttered, running into the other room, hoping for Shatterstar, expecting a burglar.

He entered the room to see Shatterstar laying on the floor of his room, near the door, beside the remains of his bedside table. He was covered in green blood and his hair was long again. He was wearing nothing but that weird wrestling headgear, a pair of stained, white pants, and arm gauntlets.

Shatterstar was groaning on the floor. His swords were strewn on the floor beside him.

“’Star? Is… is that you?” He knelt down next to him.

Shatterstar turned his head and caught a glimpse of Rictor and his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed a little bit. “Rictor? Is that you?” He propped himself up on his elbows. “You look… like shit. What day is it?”

Rictor ignored the insult and acquiesced to the request.

“So it’s been a year. Damn. I’ve been gone… for awhile. I finished my quest. I killed Mojo. I freed the people…” He breathed in deeply. “I did it, Rictor. But it took longer than I thought it would. I almost died in the process. So I transported back here, the last place I remember being.” He looked Rictor up and down with his scrutinizing gaze. “Have you gained weight?”

Rictor chuckled uneasily. “I guess. It’s been a rough year for me lately. Not like your kind of rough. More like a ‘hey I lost my job and ended up depressed missing my best friend’ kind of rough.”

Shatterstar sighed. “I’m sorry for abandoning you. But I had to. Did you catch up with Longshot at least? Tell him what was up?” He stood up and brushed the debris off of himself. He walked into the messy living room. “You kept all of my stuff!”

“Yeah, I did. And about Longshot? He thinks I left you there to die, that I had us transported alone on purpose. He threatened to kill me if I ever spoke to him again. He’s back with his wife, and, I think, your mom, Dazzler. They’re on a world tour for Dazzler’s new album.”

“I’ll give him a call. I don’t have a phone right now. I take it you had to get all new everything when you got back? Because I sure don’t have my wallet or phone you bought me.” He looked mildly apologetic. “Did you still keep my room, or is it now a repository for beer bottles.” He nudged the box of empty bottles on the floor in-between Rictor’s armchair and sofa.

Rictor felt ashamed. He really had let himself go. He had turned into a depressed, pathetic, borderline alcoholic with a bad case of feeling sorry for himself. He had no reason to. He had made the circumstances that had made him sad. He should have moved on.

“No, your room is still the same. Do you want help moving your things in there? It’s fully furnished, just like the ads said.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll be fine. I’m going to find Longshot tomorrow. Do you have a car I can borrow?” Shatterstar’s tone was kind but firm.

“Nope, nope, nope. You can’t do this, you can’t just _disappear_ again and go on some crazy adventure and leave me.” Rictor shook his head. “Absolutely not. Anyhow, you need to get back on your feet first anyhow.”

“You don’t get to dictate what I do, Julio. You tried this already, trying to dictate my fate, and you almost killed us. We’ve been through this routine. My life? Does not revolve around keeping you company. But, I do think you would be helpful in this endeavor. My driving skills are not great, and you know Earth better than me.” He crossed his arms and looked down at him disdainfully.

Rictor sighed in relief. “Thank you. I promise I’ll change. Please, give me a chance. I’ve been sort of possessive as a friend. I just wanted to not lose you. Please accept my apology.”

Shatterstar smiled a little bit. “It’s fine. It’ll be okay. It’ll be like old times. Like when we hunted down Daken. Just, Ric? Please, please shave. Your hair is fine, but your beard is disgusting. It’s scraggly and weird.”

“Will do. We can leave sometime in the next few days. The tour schedule is up on the wall. I stole a flier from the mall. I also have been keeping track of all the movies that have come out since you’ve been gone. I know you would have wanted that.” Rictor stretched. Things were all falling together as they should be. Shatterstar was back, and now they were going to go on an adventure. Maybe things were not so bad after all.

“We need to make a list of things we need before we leave. Like a new phone for me, and fake IDs.” Shatterstar was examining the poster. It was covered in glitter and had sparkling designs all over it, staying true to Dazzler’s character.

“Since when did you get so efficient?”

“Since leading a rebellion.” He paused and looked at Rictor and smiled. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Rictor replied. “But let’s focus. We need to get you a phone and some money. That I can handle. I need to get my shit together. We need to figure out where Dazzler is going to be in the next three days.”

“We’re coming full circle, Ric. I know where she’ll be. She’ll be in Pittsburgh, where you and Longshot first met me.” Shatterstar grinned. “Then, we get Longshot to talk to us, and we explain the whole thing that I’m not dead and that you, while mildly incompetent and thoughtless at times, are not a murderer. It’s a golden plan!”

That night, Rictor crawled into bed after cleaning his apartment for the first time in months. It felt good to clean again, and it felt even better to have Shatterstar back. He felt like things were going to be alright for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy that these two are back together. And do not fear! I will have Ric and Star get a deeper level of closure about their conflict. This is just them making up.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rictor has a lot of feelings, and he doesn't know what to do. Also, we get a Dazzler appearance!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for slow updates. I am working currently on another fic as well, called "Healing What's Broken" that features Shatterstar, Adam X, and Rictor. It has two chapters and is also up on here.

The next morning, Rictor woke up, feeling as if the night before had just been a bizarre dream, but Shatterstar singing in the shower confirmed that no, his best friend coming back was a reality. That made him happier than he had been in a while. He pulled on a shirt and a comfortable pair of sweatpants and walked out and started to make breakfast, which, for him, was just cereal and coffee.

He looked in his fridge and cupboards for something to feed Shatterstar with and found bagels. He had gotten into the habit of buying bagels every week, another ritual of his in his hopes of bringing his friend back. He toasted two of them for him and slathered cream cheese on them for his companion. He made a silent oath to buy more appropriate food now that he had a companion. He had resorted in the past year to not eating much homecooked food, and that was quite a shame. Lots of microwave dinners had been consumed in the last three hundred and sixty-five days.

Shatterstar walked out of the bedroom, having donned some of his casualwear. True to form, fashion did not come quite naturally to him. He was wearing a pair of short shorts and a sweater. Two pieces of clothing not normally meant to go together, and yet, Shatterstar made it look quaint and charming instead of tragic.

“Good morning. I made you bagels.” He offered Shatterstar the bagels, which the warrior regarded before devouring voraciously. That brought another smile to Rictor’s face.

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” Shatterstar asked with his mouth full.

“We’re gonna get you set up with a new phone, and we are gonna plan out where we want to stay and where we will meet up with Longshot in the next few days.” Rictor gesticulated with his own bagel. “That, and I need to start working out again. I think I’m going to get a gym membership. I’m really out of shape.”

Shatterstar frowned. “Me leaving… it affected you this much?” It seemed beyond his comprehension that he could mean that much to somebody, and that infuriated Rictor.

“Like hell it did! You threw me through a portal and left me for a year while you went on a crusade through Mojoworld! I didn’t know if you were alive or dead and it tore me apart, ‘Star!” Rictor slammed his fist down on the table.

“Calm down, Rictor!” Shatterstar snapped. “You can’t be holding this grudge against me forever. I did what I had to. You keep forgetting that you almost got me killed because of your own hubris and your making a deal with a trickster god. Longshot and I could have handled it much quicker if not for you. We would not be in this mess if you had just waited for him to hear back from the Scarlet Witch.” He crossed his arms irritably. “And why do you care so much if I leave anyhow. I’m your partner in crime, yes, but you can always find a new coworker, no? You work for X-Force.”

As always, Shatterstar was missing the point by a longshot. “But I want _you_ , Shatterstar. How hard is that for you to comprehend?” Rictor was growing frustrated. What he wanted to say was that he had fallen in love. Fallen so hard for Shatterstar that it was not even funny. But he could not bring himself to say it. Years of keeping his emotions tamped down regarding things like love had taken that ability from him.

“You… Okay. I see. You have become dependent on me for your happiness. I do not know what has warranted this. But you need to stop. You are becoming a liability.” Shatterstar scowled at him, picking up the remnants of breakfast and putting them away.

“Shatterstar, I love you!” Rictor finally blurted out. He covered his mouth in horror. He could not believe he had just said that. It was just in the heat of the moment. Shatterstar had to now how much he meant to him.

Shatterstar paused. “What?” His glowing eye widened, as did his blue eye. His tan skin gained a slight flush to it.

“You heard me.” He muttered, looking down, now ashamed. “I don’t want to have to say it again.”

“Ric… If you felt that way… you should have said.” Shatterstar started to fiddle with his hair uncomfortably. “But, I have to say, I did not expect this as an outcome.”

“I did not know how to. I didn’t know when to say it. I was lost, Shatterstar. But you always pull me back. You save me every time.” He looked back up at Shatterstar. “Please don’t hate me.”

“I don’t. But after this job, I do not know what I want to do. Working with you does not seem like it is a good business for either of us right now. You need to get your life together.” Shatterstar stood up. “But let us put our personal issues aside. We have a mission.”

Rictor sighed sadly. “You’re right. I’m sorry I said anything.”

 Shatterstar did not acknowledge him there, and for the next two and a half days, it was very awkward. When he got the hotel, Shatterstar got them separate rooms. _So it’s come to that, Shatterstar?_ Rictor thought glumly. Well, he had burnt that bridge, and there was no coming back from it.

When they drove to Pittsburgh, it was in uncomfortable silence. Shatterstar said nothing, and neither did Rictor. They just drove. Finally, Shatterstar spoke up as they drove into the city proper. “I think you only love me because you’re around me a lot. You’ve been without proper companions for too long.”

“So what?” Rictor retorted, half relieved to be spoken to, but instantly defensive.

“I’m just saying…” Shatterstar sighed and shook his head. “It’s useless. You won’t listen to what I have to say unless I’m agreeing with you or apologizing for leaving. And I am sorry, I’m sorry for upsetting you. But I did what I had to do.”

Rictor leaned back in his seat as he drove, blowing hair out of his face grumpily. He had shaven again, but he had not cut his hair. It still remained long and dark brown. When they pulled into the hotel, they checked in to their adjacent rooms without a word to each other. Rictor soon found that Shatterstar had conveniently booked them adjoining rooms with a door connecting them. This was a rather handy arrangement that Rictor appreciated for sheer convenience.

When it was three hours until the concert, he walked into Shatterstar’s room preceded by a knock to see Shatterstar sitting on the bed texting on his new phone.

“Who you messaging?” Rictor did not know that Shatterstar had anyone on Earth to talk to.

“Handling something for tonight. I thought it would be useful to deal with it ahead of time. Do you have the tickets?” Shatterstar stood up and brushed his hands off on his pants. Rictor appreciated, not for the first time, how tall Shatterstar was and how good he looked in white. He was wearing a white, leather jacket over a dark blue shirt and a pair of maroon jeans. For once, he looked something resembling stylish. Or at least not deaf to the voice of fashion.

“Yeah. They’re here.” Rictor patted his jacket pocket. “Shall we?”

He nodded and the two of them walked out of the hotel together. Rictor got an Uber to the venue Dazzler was playing in while Shatterstar kept on texting on his phone. When they arrived, Rictor and Shatterstar both burst out of the vehicle. This was time sensitive. They needed to get into the arena before the show started.

As Rictor started to head for the main line, Shatterstar tugged him in the opposite direction, still looking at his phone. “This way.” He said, pulling him along.

“’Star. This is no time for one of your insane little detours! We’re on a schedule here!” Rictor complained.

Shatterstar ignored him, and Rictor was relegated to following him as he circuited the arena until they reached the tour buses. Rictor then watched in horror as Shatterstar started counting them, settled on the largest one and started banging on it loudly.

“’Star!!! You can’t do that! We’re going to get arrested-“ He broke off the sentence because the door of the bus opened. Two people were walking out. “Shit.” He put his hands up. He nudged Shatterstar to imitate him, which Shatterstar ignored him.

“We got the point. What do you want?” It was Longshot and no one other than Dazzler herself. Her stage makeup was painted on immaculately and she was in a shimmering white outfit. She looked like a queen to rival the gorgeous graces of X-Men’s Emma Frost.

“Was this the text message you were telling me about?” Dazzler hung on her taller husband’s arm, her shining smile flashing across her teeth as she surveyed the two young men in front of her. “Are you two responsible for the messages sent to my love?”

“I can honestly say I have not seen your husband in over a year, Mrs. Alison- Dazz- Blaire…” Rictor stumbled over her names like a nervous teenager. How should he go about addressing an international superstar as well as a former X-Men member who had been in the business almost as long as he had been alive?

“Yes, I sent them. Your husband is Longshot, no? Then he should know us. He accused this man-“ he pointed at Rictor, “of killing me, and I wanted to come myself to explain what happened and to set it straight. He is also my father, and I owe him.” Shatterstar crossed his arms, completely unfazed by Dazzler.

She blinked and looked at Longshot who looked less charming than normal and a little sheepish. “Is- is that really you, Shatterstar? You’re… not dead?”

“I am very much alive, Longshot. No thanks to Rictor, but he did not kill me. His actions were reckless, and his deal with Loki a foolish action, but he is not my killer. Please drop your accusation and hatred for him. I was told you had threatened to kill him should you see him again, and I would appreciate it if you would ah, rescind that.” He smiled and held out a hand for Longshot to shake. “Is this agreeable to you?”

“Y-yes! Yes, of course! You’re alive! I can’t believe it! Alison, my _son_ is alive! No, _our_ son.” He beamed down at his wife who looked a little bit put off by the whole situation and by Shatterstar himself, much less Rictor.

“So, you’re my son? I have no recollection of you or your birth. It is a nice story your father has told me, but I think I would remember giving birth to a child like yourself. And, Rictor, was it? Try not to endanger people’s lives so needlessly. I’ve served on the X-Teams for years. Teamwork and trust are important, as is clear communication. Longshot told me what you did and what you have done, and I feel like you could stand to do some of those things better.” She turned back to Shatterstar. “Do you have any mutant powers?”

“I can teleport, and I can generate energy blasts. But not very often.” He responded. “It’s an honor to meet you, for the record.”

“Thank you. I would love to have words with you after the show, but I must go right afterwards to the next city. The show business waits for no one, although Longshot is welcome to stay behind with you guys, should he desire, God knows he’s been on tour with me for this long.” She pecked Shatterstar’s forehead before she waved a good-bye and walked off.

“That’s my cue. Thank you for coming back, Shatterstar. And, Rictor? Take her advice, she’s a smart woman. But you don’t need to be watching out for me anymore.” Longshot followed after her.  

“So that’s your mom. Is that where you get your flair for dramatics?” Rictor quipped, elbowing his partner gently in the side.

“I got it from years fighting for entertainment, although genetics could be part of it.” Shatterstar responded. “Do you want to stay for the show?”

“I bought tickets, didn’t I?”

So they stayed and watched Dazzler perform, and it was half lightshow, half powerhouse vocal performance. She had the most beautiful voice among mutants and non-mutants. She sang her heart out, and a couple times, Rictor could have sworn, she looked in their direction with tears in her eyes, as if she knew her son was up there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love cute chapter endings. Rictor and Shatterstar have a long ways to go to get anywhere happy though. Also. HE CONFESSED!!!!!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar and Rictor try to get closure, and also get an unexpected visitor...

On the way home, Shatterstar was oddly quiet. Meeting Dazzler had seemed to nullify the divisiveness between the two of them for the time being. Rictor kept glancing over at his friend, checking on him, until finally Shatterstar grew irritated.

“I’m fine, Julio.” He grunted. “Quit looking at me like I’m going to keel over dead in the next five minutes.”

“I’m just worried about you. You’ve been through a lot recently. I’m still trying to come to terms with it, and it wasn’t even me it happened to! I’m just making sure my friend is alright.” He tried to console him without sounding too attached. He did not want another fight. He just wanted some peace, finally. With any luck, they could resume their business as bounty hunters and put behind them Rictor’s awkward confession of love.

However, the real world was not as kind to Rictor as his thoughts had been. When they got back to the apartment, Shatterstar sat him down and wanted a chat. A long one. One that escalated into the two of them screaming at each other at four in the morning.

“You might have saved my life, but I am _not_ required to do _anything_ for you in return! I finished my mission! You have no authority or pull over me! I only came back out of loyalty to our friendship, a friendship that for you, I think, has turned into obsession!!” Shatterstar snapped, staring him down from across the kitchen table.

“I would have died for you, ‘Star! Have you ever thought about that?! I was miserable without you here! I was ruined! When you’re around? It makes me _want_ to be better!” He gesticulated to the apartment around them. “Look at this! This is our doing! Our teamwork!”

“We fight well together, yes, but that does not mean we should be lovers! You were fine without me! And I am highly inclined to deprive you of my presence permanently!” Shatterstar straightened up haughtily, towering over Rictor’s comparatively diminutive figure.

“And all I’m saying is that I think that we really have something special! We’re wasting our time just trying to be friends when…” Rictor stopped himself. What was he doing? He was no better than a boy who would not stop pursuing a girl after she said no. He felt immensely guilty. He was trying to guilt Shatterstar, and that was not right. “Nevermind. You’re right. You can and do have every right to leave me. I’ve been a rather rotten friend, haven’t I?”

Shatterstar had looked ready to start yelling again, but he halted at this admission. “You mean that, Ric?” He asked, curiously, cocking his head. “Or are you just trying to get me to let my guard down.”

“’Star… Do you really think so low of me?” Rictor replied, sadly. If he did, he deserved it, but he hoped that he did not.

“No. I just wanted to ask to be sure. You have been rather atrocious in the past few interactions, but I feel like the remedy is to work together more. You can’t have harmony until you can work past the problem.” He sounded much more calm and relaxed, almost like the kind of teacher who would teach meditation or yoga.

Rictor nodded. “If you say so.” He would have said much more if there was not a knock on the door that interrupted their train of thought. “Must be a neighbor or something. I’ll see what they want. Probably locked out of their apartment after a late night. _Really_ late night. I wish people didn’t assume I was the landlord.” He walked to the door and was almost bowled over when the door came crashing down in front of him.

Wolverine charged through the hole where the door used to be. “Which of you fuckers killed my son?”

Rictor stood there shocked. Everything seemed like it was happening in slow-mo. Wolverine looked between him and Shatterstar. “I won’t say it again. Who. Killed. Him?”

Rictor chanced a glance between him and Shatterstar. Neither of them were armed, as if that would do any good against someone like Wolverine. Rictor had heard all of the stories about Wolverine; that he was virtually unkillable, and a master of unarmed combat. Well, they were fucked. Royally and epically fucked. Shatterstar was going to die, and so was he. He could not bear to let the man he loved die because he had taken out a mark. So he lied.

“I killed him. I killed your son.” His voice sounded tinny and hollow in his head. “Leave Shatterstar out of this. He’s just my… my… sidekick.” If either of them lived to complain about that analogy, Rictor would be more than grateful to debate it.

“Get out, then.” Wolverine gestured at the ginger warrior. He unsheathed his claws and started to advance on him. Rictor felt like he was going to piss himself out of fear.

“I’m not leaving Rictor.” Shatterstar said firmly. “You can’t just kill someone.” _Real hypocritical there, Shatterstar_. Rictor thought, as he started backing up towards the wall. Maybe he could jump off the balcony and spare himself the shredded meat approach.

“Get out of here, dammit! Someone needs to tell Cable what happened to me! It’s like you said. We need to work together! Go and _get help_.” He hoped that the other man knew that that was code to get Cable on the damn phone and not him trying to get physical actual help fighting the Wolverine.

Shatterstar hesitated, looking rather apprehensive, then he ran out of the apartment, through the broken doorframe, into the night. “I’m sorry!” He yelled.

“Not so brave, is he? Too bad. I thought he was related to Longshot. Pity he’s such a coward.” Wolverine spat out the words. “Too bad for you, your buddy won’t be saving your ass tonight.”

“I feel like we can talk this out?” Rictor said, anxiously. “Please, I don’t want to die, and I definitely don’t want Shatterstar to find me dead. He just got back from another planet, and we’re settling in here.”

“What is he, your husband, bub?” Wolverine sounded half curious, half contemptuous.

“I’m not having this conversation!” Rictor yelled, then bolted, throwing the glass pepper shaker on the table at Wolverine. It was the first solid thing he had seen on his messy table, covered in paper plates and plastic utensils. He charged downstairs. He had to get out of here. Wolverine was going to kill him and leave his entrails for the birds to find. And the X-Men were not there to stop him.

He crashed down the stairs, tripping on the bottom steps and landing hard on his ass. He was about to get up when he felt pressure on his head, and realized Wolverine had grabbed his hair. _This is it. This is how I die!_

“And back upstairs we go… Your buddy needs to see an example, for both him _and_ Cable, for what happens when you mess with my family.” Wolverine dragged him up the stairs, ignoring his struggles. He was much stronger than Rictor, despite being a half foot shorter. In the back of his mind, it registered somewhere with Rictor that Shatterstar would stand head and shoulders taller than the other man, and that made him happy in an adverse way.

“I… I thought you didn’t even _like_ him! You’ve tried to kill each other plenty of times! I’m not _totally_ out of touch with mutant family drama!” He made another attempt to plea for his life, which earned the dubious honor of Wolverine throwing him across his own living room to hit the wall.

 _Shit! He’s strong! I was hoping to deal with him_ outside _so I could use my powers! If I use them in here, I’ll bring the place down!_ Rictor groaned as he collapsed on the ground. Something had cracked in his chest and did not quite feel right. He stood to his feet unsteadily just in time to catch a vicious punch to the gut, thankfully without the adamantium claws.

He gasped for air, as it knocked all of the wind out of him. That definitely did some damage. His entire upper body was screaming in agony. What happened next was a flurry of punching and kicking that involved almost every part of his body, until he was down on the ground, curled into a fetal position, barely able to breathe. From experience, he knew that his nose was broken, his ribs were probably broken too, and he could barely move his head. Everything else was massive soreness and agony.

“My son suffered when he died. They found a bullet of _that_ metal inside of him surrounded by claw marks. Like he was trying to dig it out. You know how much that hurts? I’m gonna show you, bub.” He unsheathed one claw and stuck Rictor like he was piece of obstinate food that refused to be picked up with a fork. He did it swiftly, then proceeded to dig around the wound, causing Rictor untold agony. It felt like somebody was gutting him, which was essentially what was happening. He flashed back to watching Daken on the floor trying with his claws to dig the bullet out of himself, and he felt pity for the man.

“When Cable gave me the body, his neck was broken. So that was how you did it, eh? You neutralized his healing factor and then snapped his neck…. Smart. Well, you don’t have a healing factor, and it looks like you’ll be bleeding out. No need to snap your neck.” The claw retracted, finally. Wolverine leaned down into his face, brushing Rictor’s long hair out of his bruised face.

“Cable will rue the day he sent you and your lot to kill my son. We might have hated each other, but he should not have gone out to a lowlife bounty hunter like you.” He wiped his hand off on a clean spot of Rictor’s now rapidly bloodying ‘Dazzler’ t-shirt. “I’ll let myself out.” He walked out the doorway and Rictor faintly heard him run down the stairs.

Rictor let out a low moan on the floor. He could not move. It hurt too much. He did not know exactly where he had been stabbed, just the general area. Anatomy had never been his strong point, even though as a bounty hunter and assassin it should have been. All he knew was that he was going to die.

Just as he felt himself passing out, he heard rushed footsteps coming up the stairs. He also heard voices. It was Cable and Shatterstar. He heard Shatterstar run over to him and felt all the pain as he was lifted up, wrapped in a blanket, probably Shatterstar’s new collectible ‘Dazzler’ blanket, and quickly carried down the stairs and placed in the back of a car.

“Stay with me, Ric. Please, stay with me! Don’t die because I was a moron a year ago!” Shatterstar held his hand until he blacked out and everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Rictor! He's having such a rough time!
> 
> Be warned. From 9/14-9/29 I am on holiday. I will either post a lot or not often depending on my schedule, but from the 16th to the 19th do not expect much, if anything, as I will be in New Zealand.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shatterstar comforts Rictor.

Rictor woke up in a room glowing with a soft white light. He groaned in pain. His side felt like it was on fire. His whole body ached with a dull throb. He tried to move an arm to itch his nose, but it felt like it was made of lead. He looked around. He was laying in one of the beds inside of the X-Force base. He took another look around and realized he was in the medical center where the team was treated after conflicts. He was hooked up to an IV drip. Shatterstar was sitting next to him on a fold-up chair looking anxious in the same outfit he had worn to the concert the night before.

“Hey, you’re awake!” Shatterstar seemed to be relieved. “Good. I thought, I really though you were going to give up on me. When we carried you in here, you were dripping blood everywhere, and we worried Wolverine had punctured something vital.” He gently patted Rictor’s head, eliciting a hiss of pain from the injured man. “Sorry.”

“Yeah… I’m alive. By a loose definition of living. I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck and stabbed in the side.” He whimpered as he shifted and the injury on his side stretched to accommodate his movement. He hated showing this kind of weakness in front of anyone, but if it had to be someone, it might as well be Shatterstar. “But yeah. You saved my life. How’d you get Cable here so fast?” Rictor was shocked to hear how hoarse his voice sounded.

“I teleported to him. I did not think the car would get here in time, so I teleported into his office, where he was sleeping, and then I told him of the situation. We teleported back to the apartment shortly after. I would have teleported the three of us from apartment to X-Force, but I was too exhausted.” Shatterstar seemed tired. That must be why. Teleportation exhausted him, and he had done it back to back in rapid succession. “I feel guilty, Ric. Horribly guilty. I have failed you in so many ways. I let you almost _die_ for me. I let you take the fall for Daken’s murder. I ran when I could’ve teleported us both away. You were fading when we arrived. I was terrified for you.”

“If we had teleported away, Wolverine just would have found us again. He’s gotten his precious vengeance. We can be in peace now. First Longshot, and now Wolverine. People are getting closure. I guess I paid through the nose for this closure for Wolverine, however. And about the Daken incident? Like you said-“ he paused to cough, then cried out in pain as the pain shot through his side like a fiery dart. “Like you said…” he continued, a little more softly, “we’re a team. Teammates sacrifice for each other. Anyhow, what would your mom and dad say if I let their son die?” He chuckled weakly.

“But this was _my_ fault, Rictor! It’s my fault that Wolverine showed up there! I killed his son, against your orders! I should have protested! I have a _healing factor_. You don’t! You’re so… so…” Shatterstar put his head in his hands, his orangey-red hair flowing around his shoulders. He loved how long it was. He laughed at himself. Even laying half-dead in the hospital, here he was, pining over the only man he had ever loved.

“I’m so what?” He asked, hesitantly, waiting for Shatterstar to insult him, or maybe even reprimand him. He deserved it for his recklessness. He should have been more careful about everything. He should have given Shatterstar a chance to stand up to Wolverine with his advantage of superior strength and healing factor.

“Devoted. You’re so devoted to me that you’d _die_ for me. I called you selfish awhile ago, and I’m realizing, sitting here, that I was wrong. You fixed a problem that I, and I alone, caused, and you were willing to go to your grave for it. I guess… I don’t know. Maybe I was wrong to reject you. I’ve put a lot of thought into your confession of love. I thought it was just you being desperate for affection, the actions of a man who did not know what proper feelings were like. But maybe, maybe that is more fitting for me. I never realized human beings, or beings in general, could be so selfless until I saw you laying on the ground in the apartment and my heart was in my shoes. I’ve denied the fact that I need you just as much as you need me for too long. Every day in Mojo, I missed you. I missed eating bagels with you and sparring and going to bed and hearing you snore in the next room over.” He let out a sigh. “I did not understand what love was. I thought that was just what friends did, and maybe it is. But after this? I feel like we are more than friends. We are bound by something special. We’ve both been stabbed for each other. That means something, right?”

Rictor smiled at him. “I guess it does. What are you trying to say, ‘Star?” He asked, not wanting to get his hopes up or make assumptions about what Shatterstar was trying to say in that awkward, roundabout way of his.

“What I’m saying is… I think I love you. I love you back, Julio Richter.” His voice was soft, almost timid, as if he had never said ‘I love you’ before. And honestly, Rictor was fairly certain he had never done so.

“You mean that, ‘Star?” Rictor felt like he was going to pass out. This was something he had never expected to happen after Shatterstar had rejected him.

“Yeah, yeah I do. When you confessed your feelings to me… I was confused. I did not know how to comprehend that someone felt that way for me, much less someone like you. I had grown accustomed to our friendship, and that was comfortable territory for me. I have had brothers-in-arms before, but never a lover. It was just a weird concept for me. The idea of your perception of me changing like that scared me. I said some unkind things to you and assumed your motives. I’m sorry for that. I was in denial.”

“I could never be upset with you. At least now. When we first met, I was mad at you, all the time. But now? I could never dream of lashing out at you. I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt. You had just gotten back to Earth, I could not let you die right after your mother met you. You’re the stars in my sky, Shatterstar.” He smiled. “I’m tired, ‘Star. Mind if I nod off for a bit?”

Shatterstar’s face was one of instant concern. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m not in immediate danger, I don’t think. Just sleepy. You should probably rest too, ‘Star. There’s a bed next to mine, I think. I’d invite you to share, but I think that would be inconvenient for both of us.” He weakly gestured to the tubes around him.

Shatterstar nodded solemnly. “I accept your terms.” He walked over to Rictor and awkwardly planted a little kiss on his forehead. “Sleep well.”

Rictor flushed a bright red. “Where’d you learn that?”

“Television.” Shatterstar smiled down at him. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Rictor nodded. “Thanks, Shatterstar. I… I love you, Shatterstar.”

“I love you too, Rictor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I end the story here? Leave feedback please! I will give it a week for feedback! This has been such an adventure to write and an exciting story!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end of mercenary days for Ric and 'Star.

Rictor was back on his feet in a week. He returned to his apartment and set things back in order. His landlady had been worried sick about him, having checked on the apartment after hearing the commotion and the yelling (apparently Cable and Star had not been quiet when they had retrieved him), and she had found the pool of blood on the floor, but no Rictor. There had been a police search for both Rictor and the man who had done this to him, which Rictor had to put a stop to. He could not have people tracing this back to the X-Men. That would not be good for anybody.  

Within a day of his return, a letter arrived from Longshot, apologizing on behalf of the team for Wolverine’s actions. Apparently two and two had been put together, and they were very sorry that Wolverine had decided to enact his revenge that night. Rictor wrote back to Longshot via email, letters were a bit old fashioned, and he was fairly sure that Xavier’s group only used them because they were more dramatic. He told Longshot not to worry, that he would not be pressing charges, and that he held no grudges for the time being.

In other realms of Rictor’s life, things were going very well. Shatterstar had been devoted to him and his wellbeing the entire time. He was a very attentive caregiver, despite Rictor’s best efforts to be independent in his recovery. This might also have stemmed from their new and nervous status as lovers. It was not much. Nothing super sentimental or romantic. Stolen kisses in hallways, a gentle tug at the hands, laying in bed together in the apartment, although they had their own rooms. It was things like that that made their relationship.

One night, as they were laying in bed and Shatterstar was massaging his back gently, Rictor voiced something that had been on his mind throughout his recovery process. “What if, hear me out, we quit our jobs. Quit being bounty hunters. Just became… people.” He turned to look at Shatterstar.

Shatterstar furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean, Ric? I’m not sure I follow. We’re people no matter our profession. Or is this a metaphor.” He sighed. “I don’t even know what I would do if not for hunting people for Cable. I have no talents outside of the art of war. I can barely work the toaster competently.”

Rictor massaged the space between his eyes gently. This was going to be a long conversation, he could already tell. “I’ve always wanted to live a normal, domestic life. The kind of life that’s out of reach for most mutants. I’ve never had a shot at that, at least not until I met you.” He looked up at his boyfriend. “I want to live that life with _you_.”

“I would… I would like that. I just. I’m not sure I can. The future is a nerve-wracking place for me. I do not know what I will do in a future where I do not fight. I’ve never done anything else…” He looked downcast. “But I think that as long as I am with you, everything will be okay. Right?”

“That’s… That’s a lot of faith to have in someone recovering from being beaten up by Wolverine. But yes, I will do my best to make sure we are both okay. Unlike you, I _do_ have abilities outside of being a fighter. I can make sure we are safe and secure. You don’t need to worry, ‘Star.” He kissed his forehead gently, rubbing a thumb across the side of Shatterstar’s face. God, he was gorgeous. The dim light cast on him by the bedside lamp brought out the sharp, high cheekbones and the glowing white eye, and his, well, everything. He looked perfect. Rictor had never given much thought to the idea of having a dream man, but now that he knew and loved Shatterstar, he knew he had one.

“You’re looking at me funny, Ric. Why’s that?” Shatterstar cocked his head like a curious puppy. The motion amused Rictor to no end and he had to hide a smile.

“You’re just that pretty, ‘Star. I can’t help but look at you a little funny. I think you’re even better looking than Chris Pratt and John Mulaney combined.” He said, listing the only two male celebrities Shatterstar seemed to care about. His alien boyfriend sure loved comedians and comical characters. Although, as he said it, he realized that that combination was not a favorable one.

“That’s very flattering…” Shatterstar hummed as he rested his head on Rictor’s back and laid down on top of him. If he had been any heavier, it would have been agonizing for Rictor’s still recovering body, but his hollow bones made him a fairly light burden.

The next morning, the two of them drove to the X-Force base to give back their uniforms and announce their resignation. Cable was not there, however. Just Domino.

“Neena, where’s Cable?” Rictor looked around the halls, as if he was expecting Cable to pop out of the walls. “I thought he never left this place.”

“It’s not like he’s a cave troll, Julio. He’s just out doing… Actually, I’m not quite sure what he’s doing. I’m pretty sure he’s conducting business, but for all I know he’s at a strip club.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “What do you need him for? I see you have your gear. We didn’t notify you of any missions.”

“We quit.” Shatterstar spoke up, startling Rictor. He had thought Shatterstar had wandered off, having not heard his partner’s footsteps. Sometimes he forgot how quiet the other man could be.

“Excuse me?” Domino looked at Rictor, her gaze piercing right through him. He gulped.

“What he said. We quit. I want to explore the joys of the simple, non-violent life with Shatterstar.” Rictor linked arms with Shatterstar and grinned up at him. Shatterstar smiled back at him.

“Don’t tell me…” She put her head in her hands. “My two best mercenaries have fallen in love, and now they want to explore the joys of the simple life. You can’t do this to me! Not on the one day Cable isn’t around! Julio!!” She groaned, shaking him gently, which he permitted only by virtue of the fact she was Domino.

Julio rolled his eyes and shook her off him after a couple shakes. “I’m sorry, Dom. But I’m tired of the hunting and the killing and all of that. I want a normal life. My kind of people- our kind of people, we rarely get this chance. But I have this ability to live a normal, stable life with someone I love. Would you really deny me that?” He looked her in the eye, and he knew her answer instantly.

“No. Of course not. I just- I’m sad to see you go, Julio. You’re a good employee, and a better man. I wish you and Shatterstar the best.” She turned to Shatterstar who was standing defensively at Rictor’s side. “I hope you take care of this guy. If I hear anything about you treating Rictor wrong, I’m coming for you.” She hugged Rictor. “It’s been good.”

Rictor accepted the hug, knowing that Domino rarely showed a softer side, and that she was embracing him was a big deal. He was going to miss working with her. She was a reliable person, a good person, and for a while, she had been the closest he had had to a friend.

They left the building, Shatterstar still holding his swords. He had gotten permission to keep them from her. “No one else has the powers that would make them useful.” She had reasoned. “Keep them, for all I care.”

Shatterstar smiled at Rictor as they climbed into the car. “So, where to next?”

“Wherever you want to go, ‘Star. As long as I’m with you, I’m happy.” He leaned in and kissed Shatterstar. “This is the start of a new chapter, and I couldn’t be happier.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a tough decision, but I have decided to end the story here. This has been a pleasure to write, and if you would like to read more of my writing, you are welcome to pop over to my much darker fic, Healing What's Broken, a fic about Shatterstar getting out of an abusive relationship and hooking up with, you guessed it, Rictor. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Leave comments and kudos if you liked! It's been good, y'all!

**Author's Note:**

> It's been good, all. Thank you for being part of this adventure...


End file.
